Smoky Mountain News | December 21, 2022

foodbanks feel the pinch Page 4

Officials mum on recent shooting death

On the Cover: Steven Lloyd helped build an institution at Waynesville’s HART Theatre, but now his time at the helm is coming to an end. See how he feels as he looks back at his 33 years as HART’s executive director. (Page 20) Steven Lloyd takes in the view of the stage from a seat in HART’s Performing Arts Center. Garret K. Woodward photo

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Ingles Nutrition Notes

INFLAMMATION INQUIRY

ANSWER: Use of the word “inflammation” or ‘inflammatory foods’ or ‘anti-inflammatory foods’ has certainly become quite popular; some might even call it a ‘buzz word’ or fad! Unfortunately, some people use these words and phrases with little context or explanation. What type of inflammation are these foods affecting or not affecting? Certain types of inflammation are considered a normal body process. If you are stung by a bee and the site becomes red and itches, this is inflammation. When people make claims that certain foods or ways of eating affect inflammation, are they measuring inflammatory response or an improvement in amount of inflammation? Probably not.

Chronic (long-lasting) inflammation which has been linked to heart disease, gut health issues like irritable bowel disease (IBD), depression, Type 2 diabetes, and other illnesses. Chronic inflammation is not just caused by the way we eat, but also by stress, environmental factors (pollutants) and (lack of) activity.

The way we eat may lessen or increase inflammation depending on the individual and other factors. While research is still not conclusive, some ways to potentially decrease inflammation are:

• Eating fruits and vegetables daily

Source: Inflammation (nih.gov)

written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath

QUESTION: I’M HEARING A LOT ABOUT FOODS THAT REDUCE INFLAMMATION AND DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS OR WHAT I SHOULD BE EATING?

WNC foodbanks feel the pinch

“When the public health emergency unwinds, there’s going to be a huge uptick in the need for those services,” he said.

Weatherford said there is no set date when those allotments will change and that there will be a two-month notice prior to it ending but that it is on the horizon.

Local foodbanks aren’t the only ones likely to continue to feel the pinch of the recession and its associated issues. MANNA FoodBank, which is based out of Asheville but is the main food sourcing agency for most of North Carolina’s 16 westernmost counties, has also had a tough time pulling together enough resources to meet the need.

Unlike smaller community foodbanks that need donations from people in the community, MANNA relies more on large donations of food from farmers, grocery stores and other wholesalers.

Kara Irani, director of marketing and communications for MANNA, said the nonprofit has seen a significant drop-off in donations from most of those partners.

“We’ve seen a huge decrease in food donations we receive since the pandemic,” Irani said. “There are supply chain issues worldwide.”

Considering MANNA provides food to foodbanks and charities across the region, the trickle-down effect can really hurt those smaller entities such as Swain’s Resource Center and The Macon County Care Network Food Distribution Center.

And of course, MANNA has taken note of the increased demand, as well.

BY KYLE P ERROTTI N EWS E DITOR

The holidays, a time of overabundance for some, can be the toughest time of year for those suffering food insecurity looking ahead toward a long winter.

To make matters worse, there’s a nationwide trend of increased demand and reduced supply at community foodbanks, a trend that’s mirrored in Western North Carolina. In a sense, the cause for both the shortage of supply and the increased demand are the same — long-term inflation coupled with supply chain issues that have hampered the worldwide economy since the height of the pandemic.

Melissa Baker Swan is the director of Swain County’s Resource Center. While the resource center isn’t primarily a foodbank, it does offer emergency food and connects people with any kind of service their family may need. She said the resource center typically gets its supplies from donations, whether that’s food drives, community initiatives or personal monetary contributions.

“We have seen families that usually make donations or sponsor families that just don’t have the funds to contribute this year,” she said. “Now they’re struggling to support their own families.”

Along with providing food, clothing, hygiene products, school supplies and even emergency funds for heating and electricity, the resource center offers generous individuals the chance to sponsor local children for Christmas whose families may struggle during the holiday season.

“We’re going into Christmas right now, but we’re seeing our donations drop,” she

said. “We’re also seeing power and heating costs have went through the roof, so we’re dealing with that issue too.”

The Macon County Care Network Food Distribution Center operates primarily as a foodbank. Its executive director, Tom Hogsed, said that right now things may be the direst he’s seen in his five years on the job there.

“This is more challenging than during COVID,” he said.

Hogsed highlighted the extreme need, saying that while before COVID the organization would distribute about 300,000 pounds of food, last year, it set a record with 527,000 pounds. He expects this year will end with around 575,000 pounds being distributed. While some of the clientele has stayed the same, he’s also seeing some new faces desperate to keep things together through the coming winter.

“We’re seeing a lot more people coming through for the first time. People who didn’t think they’d need our help are needing it now,” he said, adding that many are also people who he hadn’t seen in a while who are again in need.

Hogsed said that donations were down over the last few months. However, although they still remain lower than desired, there’s been an uptick in donations of canned goods, as well as turkeys and hams. He added that he’s still concerned they may not be able to keep up with that surging demand.

Along with providing food to families in need through the distribution center, Hogsed and crew also run a program through which they bring backpacks full of food to schools in Macon County every Wednesday for distribu-

tion to kids who may not otherwise eat a full meal all weekend.

“We’re having a tough time getting things for those like Chef Boyardee products, boxed mac and cheese, things kids can fix on their own,” he said.

While the need may seem more visible during the Christmas season, it is sure to carry on throughout the winter — and things

“We have been in a situation of needing to purchase tremendously more food than we have any time in our (39-year) history … we saw the need for food skyrocket as we are serving double people per month that we saw prior to pandemic,” Irani said, adding that the majority of people MANNA serves are members of working families, particularly single parents, as well as senior citizens on fixed incomes.

Another problem for MANNA has been maintaining a steady supply of fresh produce, considering it tries to maintain at least a 25% inventory of fruits and vegetables to ensure a balanced diet.

MANNA runs a free, confidential food helpline open to anyone in North Carolina to help connect them with resources. That number is 1.800.820.1109.

may get even worse. Along with the fact that some donations drop off after the holidays, Jackson County DSS Director Christopher Weatherford said that the government allotments for food and nutrition to those on fixed incomes — which largely includes senior citizens — are about to change. While they went up to about $280 per month during the pandemic, they’re going to eventually change back to normal rates — $20 to $50 per month — in the near future.

Weatherford said those allotments kept many from having to turn to foodbanks, which may have kept the demand somewhat manageable, but that may all change.

Irani noted that MANNA is in need of monetary donations since it can buy food wholesale and stretch every dollar far more than someone who shops for canned goods to donate. Anyone interested in donating to or volunteering for MANNA can do so by visiting its website at mannafoodbank.org.

Hogsed said folks can bring donations of canned goods, turkeys or ham to 130 Bidwell St. in Franklin or they can make a monetary donation online at maconcarenet.networkforgood.com. The Macon County Care Network Food Distribution Center is open Tuesday through Friday.

Baker said anyone interested in helping the Swain County Resource Center who may be able to provide donations for families needing food, heating or shelter may do so by stopping by their location at 300 Hughes Branch Road in Bryson City Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“We’re seeing a lot more people coming through for the first time. People who didn’t think they’d need our help are needing it now.”

— Tom Hogsed, Macon County Care Network Food Distribution Center

A volunteer at a recent MANNA event in Robbinsville works to load up some produce. MANNA FoodBank photo

New indictment in writs case adds more defendants and multi-state charges

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT

P OLITICS E DITOR

The case against a Haywood County woman accused of threatening elected officials by sending phony writs from a sham court has now grown into a multistate conspiracy, according to a superseding indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office on Dec. 14.

Darris Gibson Moody was arrested by the FBI back on Sept. 7, just hours after The Smoky Mountain News published a story that contained her confession.

That story came as the result of an SMN investigation the previous month detailing a series of threats faxed to elected officials across the country, the state and the Western North Carolina region.

The phony writs of execution that were “served” on Democrats and Republicans at federal, state and local levels of government allege acts of treason and various environmental crimes, and demand that the officials surrender to a tribunal. Those who don’t turn themselves in, the writs explain, could be subject to bounties of $10,000 to $20,000 for their apprehension.

During an initial hearing on Sept. 12, Moody — through retained counsel, Asheville attorney Sean Devereux — was given bond by Judge Carleton Metcalf and promised to comply with the court’s orders, despite her previous assertions that she did not recognize the legitimacy of the United States government or its legal system.

On Oct. 4, Moody was indicted on 58 counts of interstate threatening communications, and one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Moody’s cooperation, however, was short lived. She failed to show up for her Oct. 14 hearing and was taken back into custody by the FBI later that day. Devereux withdrew from the case.

Since then, Moody’s filed a flurry of motions asserting her Sixth Amendment right to represent herself and has been steadfast in her assertion that the proceedings against her are illegitimate. In several filings, she calls the United States a fictitious non-injured plaintiff.

On Dec. 9, the court allowed Moody to proceed pro se, albeit with appointed standby counsel.

Five days later, on Dec. 14, Moody was given four additional counts of interstate threatening communications.

Two additional defendants were also added to the case.

One, Timothy Michael Dever, is known to readers of The Smoky Mountain News as Tim Dever, of Downers Grove, Illinois.

According to LinkedIn and Facebook, Dever is a “CEO and freedom fighting cereal [sic] entrepreneur” and operates an arcade

game sales, repair and rental company called Monkeys Arcades in Oswego, a far western suburb of Chicago.

Dever hosts the website for a group called “The People’s Bureau of Investigation,” which claims to have nearly 8 billion agents worldwide. The PBI website accepts donations, sells merchandise and offers a cryptocurrency called “Freedom Tokens.”

The site contains copies of the writs Moody is accused of sending, which are available for download by people who want to serve them. Instructions on how to serve the writs are available on the site.

The site also contains a robust database of people who have been served with the phony writs. The database is updated by users as the writs are served. According to the PBI, anyone who “serves” a writ qualifies for a $2,000 reward.

When reached by The Smoky Mountain News on Aug. 16, Dever said that the writs were lawful and “from the Environmental Court regarding poison water.” At that time, Dever also denied any criminal activity.

Dever was arrested by the FBI in Downers Grove and had his initial appearance in federal court in Chicago. His second hearing is slated for next week.

Generally, when individuals are arrested outside the Western District of North Carolina on a federal indictment filed in the district, they’ll have their initial hearing in federal court within the jurisdiction where they were arrested. They are later transferred to the Western District where their case will ultimately be litigated.

Not much is known about the other defendant added to the case, Dee Thomas Murphy, 74.

Murphy purports to be an inventor, and according to a change.org petition from eight years ago, he seems to subscribe to the same sovereign citizen ideology espoused by Moody and Dever. His exact role in the conspiracy isn’t yet known.

Murphy is still at large, and may have ties to California. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Moody’s trial date has been set for Jan. 4, 2023, in Asheville, but that could change after her arraignment in the coming days.

All told, Moody, Dever and Murphy will face 62 counts of interstate threatening communications and one count of conspiracy to kidnap. It’s likely they’ll be tried together, although that’s not set in stone.

The maximum penalty for the interstate threats charge is five years in prison per each count charged.

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy to commit kidnapping charge is life in prison.

Healthy home for the holidays

BY B ILL G RAHAM C ONTRIBUTING W RITER

Stuck in an undersized house in Sylva with a serious mold problem, Marilyn Tollie, her husband and four kids felt their hands were tied. Chronic lung problems for two of the kids made the situation untenable, and the local rental market was a mess.

But then, by chance, Tollie met Amanda Gentry. They worked in different parts of the same building, crossed paths, and that meeting helped Tollie and her family change the course of their lives.

“We were in a tough spot,” said Tollie. “It felt like a state of emergency.”

It wasn’t a situation she was familiar with. A Smoky Mountain High School graduate, she earned degrees from Southwestern Community College and Western Carolina University while working and raising a family, including children with health challenges. There had been big bumps in the road along the way, but never a roadblock.

“There was no other way to move somewhere else quickly,” said Tollie. “We needed help from an outside source.”

And that’s where Gentry came in. She’s the coordinator of the new Healthy Opportunities Pilots (HOP) Program in Haywood and Jackson County. Administered locally by Mountain Projects and regionally by Impact Health, HOP is a statewide initiative for North Carolina managed Medicaid recipients. It’s the nation’s first comprehensive program to test and evaluate the impact of non-medical interventions on health.

In short, the state has recognized that there are other factors that affect health besides conventional healthcare, among them housing, food, transportation, personal safety and toxic stress – together known as the “social determinants of health.”

Gentry, a Haywood County native and Tuscola graduate, arrived with broad experience serving the people of her mountain community. She’s worked in the criminal justice system and as a Medicaid caseworker. She’s been in the school system as a teacher’s assistant. And now she’s applying that breadth of experience to the HOP program.

When she heard Tollie’s story and discovered the family received managed Medicaid, she was off and running. Since Tollie and her husband were gainfully employed, they had assumed they wouldn’t qualify for further assistance. “You don’t qualify for anything if you work,” they thought.

But Gentry knew different. She determined the family qualified for Section 8 vouchers, helped locate suitable housing, and smoothed the way for the family’s relocation.

Luckily, Tollie’s employment status and good references and vouchers helped them

move into the house right away.  “Even people with a good education and good jobs need help sometimes,” said Tollie. “Having the help has been monumental – like a miracle. A little breathing room from the struggle. We were beyond stressed, and we felt grateful to have assistance.”

It’s a scenario Gentry wants to see play out again and again.

“There are always people that need help that don’t ask for it,” she says. “We’re a proud community. But while they may not ask for food stamps, they will ask for healthcare. HOP considers the entire person. When you think of Medicare or Medicaid you think of medical, but if you can’t pay your light bill, that’s affecting your health and well-being.”

Patsy Davis, Executive Director of Mountain Projects, agrees and has high hopes for the program.

“Poverty has a whole host of symptoms that keep people from being at their best and can affect their health,” she said. “The more of those symptoms we can address, the better.”

Since her family’s September move, Tollie has taken work as a translator at Mountain Projects, working for the Get Covered WNC program and the HOP program that helped her family. She’s happy to be able to pass her good fortune along to others.

“There are always people in a struggle,” she says. “They could be my mom or sister or daughter. How do I want them treated?”

“I’ve been on both sides of the desk on this journey,” she adds. “I will be a better Mountain Projects employee because I have something in common with the people I’ll serve.”

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE HOP PROGRAM

Food Boxes: Each Thursday, just as the sun comes up, Amanda and her assistants make an early morning trip to the grocery store. They take their big haul to Mountain

Projects’ centralized kitchen in Sylva where it’s combined with more items from food wholesalers. The kitchen staff and Amanda’s crew assemble rows and rows of food boxes, which are then delivered or held for pickup.

Each qualified recipient receives two boxes of food and 14 pre-prepared meals each week. The two boxes are bankers’ boxes, and they include 10 lbs. of fresh produce along with milk, breads, eggs and canned non-perishable items.

“Some households have individuals with issues like severe arthritis,” Gentry said. “One person can’t use her hands to grip, for example, so we find options for that family that require less preparation. We have two families that are living at Pathways and those families don’t have access to stoves. They have to cook in a toaster oven and can’t accept as many refrigerated items. We personalize the boxes.”

Transportation: HOP works with Haywood Public Transit to provide nonmedical transportation in Haywood County to Managed Medicaid recipients.

“Whether the participant needs to go to the grocery store or to see a friend or make a visit to the local park, we can help with that,” said Gentry.

Transportation referrals are also made for medical transportation.

Housing Support: The HOP program offers an array of assistance in navigating the complexities of housing. First, HOP staff makes sure participants can sustain a home. Then

staffers help set up utilities and can even pay the first month’s rent and security deposit in many cases. HOP provides healthy home goods as needed, such as curtains, rugs and laundry detergent for participants with asthma, and can also make housing modifications that improve the health of participants, including repairs. The program frequently helps with utility costs as well.

HOP is a program for Managed Medicaid recipients hosted by Mountain Projects in both Haywood and Jackson Counties.

Over the holidays, Mountain Projects is asking the community for support in replenishing their Emergency Fund, which allows the agency to respond to emergencies for other community members who are not eligible for grant-funded programs, like HOP. To make an online end-of-year donation to help care for vulnerable individuals in our community, visit MountainProjects.org. Contributions can be made by mail and sent courtesy of Emergency Fund, Mountain Projects, 2177 Asheville Road, Waynesville, NC 28786.

DO YOU QUALIFY FOR HOP?

“Call the number on the back of your Medicaid card or call me, Amanda Gentry at Mountain Projects if you have limited cell phone minutes,” said Gentry. “I can help with the call at the offices in Waynesville or Sylva.”

Gentry can be reached in Sylva, 828.492.4092, or Waynesville, 828.452.1447.

The Tollie family was helped out by the new Healthy Opportunities Pilots Program through Mountain Projects. Donated photo

“Having the help has been monumental – like a miracle. A little breathing room from the struggle. We were beyond stressed, and we felt grateful to have assistance.”

— Marilyn Tollie

Fire destroys Kituwah LLC building

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF W RITER

Kituwah LLC CEO Mark Hubble was just going back to sleep after a night in the emergency room when his phone rang. The headquarters for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ multi-million-dollar business arm was on fire.

The Cherokee Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at 1:55 a.m. and joined by crews from Bryson City, Qualla, Maggie

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Information session dates:

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Valley and Savannah. The adjacent Kituwah Global Government Group LLC building, which finished construction earlier this year, received slight fire and water damage.

“Our Cherokee firefighters did an outstanding job handling this fire and keeping it from spreading to the second structure,” reads a Facebook post from CFD.

When Hubble arrived on the scene, 100 first responders were already at work extinguishing the fire.

Since its launch in 2015, ScaleUp WNC has served 11 cohorts comprising more than 145 WNC companies. The program has benefited a diverse group of participants as two-thirds have been rural-based, womenowned, minority-owned and/or veteranowned businesses.

Applications for the 2023 ScaleUp program are being accepted online through February 12, 2023, with up to 15 regionally headquartered businesses to be accepted into the program, starting in March. Businesses must meet the following eligibility standards:

• Be a for-profit company based in Western North Carolina

• Have been in business for at least two years

• Ideally have annual revenues between $150,000 and $2,500,000

• Have at least one full-time employee (can include founder/owner positions)

• Have identified opportunities for business expansion

This year’s sessions begin March 10 and conclude June 9, 2023.

For more information about ScaleUp, including evaluation criteria, learn more and apply at ScaleUpWNC.com.

“It was amazing to watch,” he said. There wasn’t much he could do to help, but Hubble stayed the night, watching as the fire crews worked.

Hubble quickly learned that nobody had been hurt in the fire and that there would be no material damage to Kituwah LLC’s finances or records. Insurance is expected to cover the damage, with plans to replace the one-story remodeled building with a new two-story, energy efficient facility. The company’s files are automatically backed up to both redundant servers and to the cloud.

“We’re confident there is no data loss,” Hubble said. “We’re confident to the extent that there is any monetary loss it’s really minor. We’re still hiring people. We’re still adding positions.”

“Thank you to our Cherokee Fire and Rescue, as well as fire crews from Bryson City, Qualla, Maggie Valley, Savanna, and all who helped, for working tirelessly to fight the fire at Kituwah LLC,” said Principal Chief Richard Sneed in a Facebook post Dec. 15. “This is an incredibly unfortunate event and an investigation is forthcoming.”

When reached for comment Dec. 20, Hubble said either an “accidental chain of events, a products liability issue or a combination of both” is now “a virtually certain scenario” in causing the fire, and that insurance adjustors were on scene. The Cherokee Fire Department has not responded to requests for comment or information on the status of the investigation.

Hubble said the outpouring of support, encouragement and offers of help from other

tribal organizations and programs has been immense.

“A fair amount of my time yesterday (Dec. 15) was to write thank you notes to people,” he said.

Created in 2018 to diversify the tribe’s revenue streams, Kituwah LLC is wholly owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a broad range of projects during its five years of existence. This includes $110 million in efforts to develop a 200-acre property off Interstate 40 in Sevier County and $324 million to gain control of a brand with worldwide recognition — its name has not yet been announced publicly — and invest in multiple resorts to be developed across the country. In 2020 it bought the modular home company Cardinal Homes and established Kituwah Builders to provide on-site services for modular homes.

According to its 2021 annual report, Kituwah LLC turned a profit of $1.2 million last year with profits expected to grow 250% by the end of fiscal year 2022. Hubble expects profits to increase by more than 100% for the third year in a row with distributions to the tribe increasing by 500% in the coming year.

Kituwah Global Government Group LLC, also known as KG3, is a sister company of Kituwah LLC and the tribe’s government contracting arm. It provides goods and services for its federal customers such as program management, information technology, construction services, logistics, manufacturing and administrative support services.

A firefighter walks away from the burning Kituwah LLC building. EBCI Cherokee Fire and Rescue photo

Two months after Lambert Wilson’s death, officials remain silent

Court places 911 calls under seal

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

It’s been two months since the shooting death of Lambert Wilson — a beloved educator, business owner and supporter of Native American art — but officials have remained tight-lipped about how it transpired. After The Smoky Mountain News requested public documents that could have shed light on the case, a court order was issued sealing them.

WHAT WE KNOW

Wilson died on Thursday, Oct. 20. Swain County Schools, where he had served for decades as an elementary school principal and Board of Education member, was the first to publicly announce it, stating on Facebook that Wilson had been shot and killed at his motel in Cherokee — the El Camino Motel.

A certificate of death filed Nov. 1 in Jackson County confirms that Wilson died of gunshot wounds. According to the document, he was injured at 9:56 p.m. Oct. 20 at his place of work, a motel — the address matches El Camino — and died at approximately 10:10 p.m. The death certificate states that Wilson was shot by an assailant and sustained gunshot wounds to the neck, arms, chest and abdomen.

The death is recorded as a homicide, which in legal terms means only that one human being caused the death of another. The definition includes murder and manslaughter, but also killings justified by self-defense or insanity.

The Cherokee Indian Police Department has not released any information about the incident beyond the cryptic sentence it posted on Facebook at 1:16 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21.

“The Cherokee Indian Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations are on scene at the El Camino Motel investigating an incident,” CIPD wrote. “There will be no additional information released at this time.”

In the two months since, the CIPD has refused to confirm that the “incident” was a shooting, that anybody was injured or that Lambert Wilson was even involved. No criminal case has been filed, and no suspect arrested. The CIPD log does not show arrests of any kind for more than 48 hours after the time recorded on Wilson’s death certificate. The Smoky Mountain News asked in an email whether a suspect was still at large in the community and received no reply. The CIPD did not reply to a request for comment to this story.

911 CALLS SEALED

Even absent a criminal case, which would bring with it documents like indictments, search warrants and affidavits to paint a preliminary picture of what transpired, other types of public documents can help tell the story. In North Carolina, the contents of 911 calls are public record. However, SMN’s Nov. 16 request for a copy of the 911 call made from the El Camino Motel Oct. 20 was declined. In a phone call Nov. 17, Misty Tabor of Swain County Emergency Management said that she could not release the call because CIPD had asked her not to — despite the record belonging to Swain County, not CIPD, and being subject to North Carolina Public Record Laws.

Swain County soon had a more durable reason to refuse the request. In an order entered later that day, at 3:07 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts ruled in favor of a petition from the State of North Carolina to seal the 911 calls. Letts found that “a preponderance of the evidence” showed that releasing the calls “would undermine the ongoing investigation and would also jeopardize the right of the State to prosecute any potential defendant and the right of any such defendant to receive a fair trial.” The order sealed the 911 calls for 30 days, expiring with the beginning of the day Monday, Dec. 19 — if no new petition had been filed by that date.

However, in response to SMN’s request for a copy of the order sealing the calls, Assistant Clerk of Court Stevie Bradley said that the sealing order was itself sealed.

“Per Judge Letts administrative order only the log is available for public inspection,” she wrote, attaching a document titled “Search Warrants/Court Orders Log.” The document listed Letts as having entered a sealing order on Nov. 17 set to expire Dec. 19, but no file number or additional information other than the last name of the ADA was included.

SMN obtained a copy of the order not from the court, but from Swain County Emergency Management, attached to a Nov. 23 email from Tabor reiterating that the call would not be released.

TRANSPARENCY CONCERNS

Mike Tadych, attorney for Stevens Martin Vaughn & Tadych, PLLC, said that refusing to release the motion and order to seal a public document goes against established case law and an open courts provision in the state constitution.

“Sealing orders are not supposed to be sealed,” he said. “There’s abundant case law on that very point. Our courts are not permitted to operate in secret.”

As an example of that case law, Tadych pointed to a 2009 N.C. Court of Appeals

opinion in “re Search Warrants Issued in Connection with the Investigation into the Death of Nancy Cooper,” stating that under certain circumstances a court can close a hearing or seal documents — but must publicly provide a reason for doing so.

“If a trial court decides to close a hearing or seal documents, it must state its reasons on the record, supported by specific findings,” the opinion reads. “The trial court may explicitly adopt the facts that the government presents to justify sealing when the evidence appears creditable. But the decision to seal the papers must be made by the judicial officer.”

taken before closure.”

“Under the circumstances, I think whoever asked for it to be sealed should have told you and the court should have confirmed that they told you,” Tadych told SMN.

SEALING ORDER EXPIRED, RECORDS STILL NOT DELIVERED

Letts did not respond to an email seeking clarification on these points. As of press time SMN has not received a copy of the 911 calls or a timeframe by which they would be provided — despite renewed requests and the fact that the initial sealing order has expired.

The lack of answers surrounding Wilson’s death has raised concern from members of the public and from other local media outlets. CIPD’s initial post announcing the “incident” at El Camino Motel has attracted ongoing engagement in the weeks since, with commenters asking what happened and why no information has been released.

In an October editorial that was reprinted in The Cherokee One Feather, Smoky Mountain Times Editor Jessica Webb decried CIPD’s “unacceptable” lack of transparency on the case.

“We believe CIPD has a duty to the community to release the basic facts of this case,” she wrote.

The opinion goes on to state that the court must identify the interests to be protected by closing the proceedings or sealing the document, along with “findings specific enough that a reviewing court can determine whether the closure order was properly entered.”

“I believe both a motion to seal and the order sealing whatever is sealed should be public — otherwise, they are not subject to appellate review,” Tadych said.

The 2009 opinion draws on the conclusions of a 1986 case heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit, “In re Washington Post Co.” That opinion states that “when the district court has been made aware of the desire of specific members of the public to be present, reasonable steps to afford them an opportunity to submit their views should be

“Someone has been shot and killed and the individual was a pillar of our community. Regardless of who it was, CIPD should feel an obligation to the public to release information as to the circumstances of such a tragic event. As it currently stands, with a sweeping policy of ‘no comment,’ CIPD is failing to provide reason for the public to have full confidence in the agency.

“Instead of believing that CIPD is doing all it can, people are left to wonder: Why aren’t they releasing any information? Is there something they are hiding? Do they just not know what happened and think people will forget about the case? Are they protecting someone?

“While SMT doesn’t believe there is any suspicious activity behind the closed-lip approach, we do believe they are failing to live up to community expectations.”

Lambert Wilson, 68, was a Swain County native and educator who served on the Swain County Board of Education and Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees. SCC photo

New cycle for Tourism Capital Project Fund

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF W RITER

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority will reopen a cycle for tourism capital projects at the start of the new year. Local businesses, nonprofits and governments can apply for funds for projects that will benefit visitors and residents alike.

“Although no public tax dollars are used in these projects,” said JCTDA Director Nick Breedlove, “the public will still benefit significantly through these efforts that will strengthen the vibrancy of the community, generate additional room nights and enhance both the resident and visitor experience.”

Under state legislation, the JCTDA may spend one third of its annual budget on brick-and-mortar capital projects like convention and conference centers, arenas and stadiums, sports facilities, performing arts venues, museums and other attractions, parks, greenways, trails, other placemaking initiatives like streetscapes and public art, wayfinding and more.

The Tourism Capital Project Fund’s purpose is to “provide leveraged investment in tourism projects that will increase visitation and attendant spending and overall economic impact for Jackson County.”

This allows a process through which stakeholders in the county can apply for money generated through tourism, by way of a room tax, to fund projects that improve the county for residents and tourists. By funding capital projects, tourism bureaus increase the demand for accommodations, local spending and visitor satisfaction, thereby bringing more money into a county.

According to the TDA, “the Tourism Capital Project Fund offers a level of financial support to create sustainable tourism development activities at the local level that maintain and/or create jobs, attract tourists, and enhance the visit experience.”

Applications will open on Jan. 1 with $750,000 of funding available for projects that are owned and operated publicly or by nonprofits; a one-to-one match is required. Eligible projects include new construction, expansion, renovation, maintenance, rehabilitation or a replacement project for an existing facility. The project must have a total cost of at least $25,000 over the life of the project and a useful life of at least 10 years. Another eligible project is the purchase of major equipment costing $25,000 or more with a useful life of at least 10 years. A one-to-one match is required for all projects.

“The use of visitor-paid occupancy taxes on capital projects to benefit our local residents and the community is a great thing. I am strongly in favor of reinvesting dollars back into our towns and communities,”

said Breedlove.

The JCTDA documented a total of $2,637,438.19 in room occupancy tax collections during the 2021-22 fiscal year. That was well over the $1.99 million collected during the 2020-21 fiscal year, both of which were higher than the last pre-covid year. During the 2018-19 fiscal year the JCTDA recorded $1.19 million in room occupancy tax collections.

JCTDA began developing the application for capital projects in 2020 with research into best practices in other destinations. The application was reviewed by JCTDA’s Product and Experience Development Committee, Visitor Experience Committee, Magellan Strategy Group and the county’s legal and finance teams.

The JCTDA created a Tourism Capital Project Fund Committee with representatives from across tourism industries including accommodations, food and beverage, chamber of commerce, arts and culture, the community, JCTDA board chairman and a county commissioner. This committee will review applications prior to going before the full JCTDA board, who will review applications before deciding which applications to forward to the county commission for approval.

Applications will be scored according to a rubric so that applicants know what components are most important.

Last year, the JCTDA opened applications for the Tourism Capital Project Fund’s first round of funding. However, when the deadline closed in August, no applications had been submitted. According to Breedlove, while there was interest in applying for the funds during that cycle, several parties said that applying in the coming year would be more feasible.

During last year’s cycle of funding, there was $500,000 available to applicants. That money has rolled over into this new round of funding and with an additional $250,000 allocated, the total amount available this year is $750,000. The application deadline is June 1, 2023.

Future fiscal year allocations will depend on anticipated occupancy tax collections.

Last year the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority administered a Tourism Capital Project Fund. Nine applications were received from local municipalities and Lake Junaluska. The Haywood TDA had allocated $500,000 for the fund and awarded that money to five out of nine projects that submitted applications for the funds.

“We’d like to see this program continue to grow,” Breedlove told the county commission back in February. “We will scrutinize these projects to make sure they are really good fits, not just that we use up that pot of money. So if there is money left over from this fiscal year, we will roll it into next fiscal year.”

Local businesses expand in Jackson

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TCorporation and Innovation Brewing, will lead to the creation of 52 new jobs and over $5 million of investments in the county.

“I’m excited. This is one of the things that I’m really trying to work on is to help our existing businesses make sure that they are aware of opportunities like this and helping them grow,” said Economic Development Director Tiffany Henry.

American Sewing, a textile manufactur-

ing business located in Sylva, will use the building reuse grant, available through the North Carolina Department of Commerce, to expand its facility by more than 12,000 square feet. This will allow the company to add 12 full time, permanent jobs.

“American Sewing had been looking at expanding their existing facility,” said Henry. “They reached out to me to see if I had any idea of space they could utilize because they needed storage temporarily. One conversation led to another, and last week the North Carolina Department of Commerce awarded them a $60,000 grant

for expansion of their facility by about 12,000 square feet.”

According to Henry, American Sewing will be adding a total of 30 new employees with the expanded space, however, due to the Department of Commerce’s specific wage and benefit requirements, only 12 of those positions are tied to the grant. The company currently employs 36 workers and will retain all those positions.

“I thought that was really important to make sure that you knew that,” Henry told commissioners at their Dec. 13 meeting.

The new jobs will pay an average of $18

an hour plus benefits. The company is partnering with Jackson County Public Schools to try and fill those positions in the coming years. Through the building expansion, the company is investing over $2 million in Jackson County. The grant required a $3,000 match from the county.

“We’re really excited about this opportunity for American Sewing and for Jackson County,” said Henry. “This is the first building reuse grant that we’ve had in Jackson County. We worked very closely with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, who administers these grants to some degree.”

The second business set to expand its footprint in Jackson County is the popular Innovation Brewing. The company recently purchased the old Tuckaseegee Mills building. It is a former manufacturing building, over 100,000 square feet, on Scotts Creek Road just past the Health Department. The building previously belonged to the county and sold at the end of November.

Innovation Brewing will be moving production to this site and estimates adding 22 new jobs. This is a $3 million investment in Jackson County.

“It was county owned, so now it will be put back on the tax record,” said Henry.

Innovation has been in business for over nine years and currently has three locations — the original taproom and production facility in downtown Sylva, Innovation Station in downtown Dillsboro and InnoWhee, the taproom on the campus of Western Carolina University.

Holiday Gifts...

American Sewing Corporation will use a grant from the NC Department of Commerce to expand its facility by 12,000 square feet. Jackson County Economic Development photo

Cherokee elects new Council members

Voters prioritize business background over legislative experience

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF W RITER

In the Dec. 15 special election filling two vacant Tribal Council seats, Cherokee voters favored candidates with careers in business and finance rather than those with legislative experience.

The election filled seats representing Painttown and Wolfetown/Big Y. Sean “Michael” Stamper won the Painttown vote, while Andrew W. Oocumma commanded the lead in Wolfetown. Of the 17 candidates, five had previously been elected to Tribal Council — Marie Junaluska, Lisa Taylor, Mike Parker, Chelsea Taylor and Susan Coleen Toineeta. However, only two of these former Council members finished in the top half of their races.

“We’re evolving into a large financial power,” Oocumma said. “I feel like our communities are realizing that they want people in there that may have that past experience in making big decisions, or maybe it’s the company they worked for like myself, or maybe they ran their own business, that kind of thing. I think even the younger generation within the tribe that are voters are realizing the same thing. They’re not their parents’ voters anymore.”

Both Stamper and Oocumma applauded tribal members for turning out in large numbers despite no early voting or absentee voting opportunities and less than two months between the day the election was held and the day it was scheduled — during the busy holiday season, no less. The Board of Elections did not respond to requests for voter turnout data, but using voter registration numbers

from 2019 puts turnout at 38.5% in Painttown and 48.4% in Wolfetown/Big Y.

“To get that turnout, it really showed that the community cared and the community was ready,” Stamper said. “And my community was wonderful for me. They allowed me to come into their homes during this time and speak to them, and that really allowed me to put it over the edge.”

Stamper and Oocumma both attributed their wins to their efforts to visit with as many voters in their communities as possible, lending a listening ear to their issues and concerns.

Andrew W. Oocumma. Donated photo

Sean “Michael” Stamper. Donated photo

“I tried to let them know that I’m here to listen, as well,” Stamper said. “I’m not just trying to earn your support — I’m also trying to make a difference here. So tell me what your issues are, because this isn’t a one-way street.”

Stamper was the decisive winner in Painttown, commanding 32.9% of the 319 votes despite a crowded field of eight candidates. Runner-up Jeff Thompson was a distant second, pulling 16% of the vote. Behind him were Marie Junaluska with 13.8%, Bentley Tahquette with 12.2%, Lisa Taylor with 9.4%, Stephanie Maney with 7.5%, Lou Jackson with 4.4% and David “Andre” Brown with 3.8%.

Stamper, 31, is a regulatory and appeals officer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Public Health and Human Services Division and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He has worked for the tribe for 10 years, with roles spanning finance, higher education and public health and human services. He’s been a member of the Sequoyah National Golf Course Board of Directors since 2014.

Prior to the election, Stamper told The Smoky Mountain News that his top three priorities for the office were community involvement and participation; transparency in all matters, including finance, legislation and day-to-day issues; and listening to the community and being the voice of the people.

In Wolfetown, Oocumma took first place with 22.5% of 583 votes, edging out secondplace Mike Parker, who drew 20.1%. Trailing were Frank Dunn with 14.8%, Amy Sequoyah Anders with 12.5%, Chelsea Taylor with 9.6%,

Jesse Sneed with 7.5%, Sam “Frell” Reed with 5.7%, Theodore “Teddy” Michael Bird with 5% and Susan Coleen Toineeta with 2.4%.

Oocumma, 49, is the regional advertising manager for Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He has worked as a banker and a workforce development manager in the Ohio College system, developing customized training and education for major companies statewide as well as grant projects to put people back in the workforce.

Before the election, Oocumma told SMN that he wants to better inform tribal members of the risks and rewards of out-of-state business dealings before voting on such projects, ensure that committee and commission members recuse themselves when voting on matters to which they are personally connected, and support local economic development.

“There’s a need-to-know feeling out there in our community, and I feel like I can bring that to the folks, and bring a business sense, business acumen to the Council that’s there, but limited,” he said.

Oocumma and Stamper will take an oath of office in the first week of January to fill the unexpired terms of former Wolfetown Rep. Bill Taylor and former Painttown Rep. Tommye Saunooke. Taylor resigned after facing criminal charges in connection with an alleged domestic violence incident. A trial is scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 9. Saunooke passed away while serving her 12th consecutive term.

The terms expire Oct. 2, at which time the winners of the 2023 Tribal Council election will be seated.

Kayaker’s body recovered near The Sinks

Three days after Knoxville resident Carl Keaney, 61, disappeared underwater while kayaking above The Sinks in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, rangers were able to recover his body.

Park dispatch received a call at 3:40 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, that Keaney had gone underwater and did not resurface, but high water made recovery efforts difficult. Emergency personnel searched the area where it was safe to do so. When the water in Little River receded overnight Sunday, Dec. 18, they were able to recover the body near the place Keaney was last seen.

Emergency personnel from Townsend Fire Department, Blount Special Operations Response Team and American Medical Response assisted Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers. AMR transported Keaney to the Blount County Medical Examiner’s office.

Man pleads guilty to fentanyl trafficking

A Macon County man who ferried fentanyl into this state from Georgia is headed

to state prison for trafficking the dangerous drug, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.

Matthew Levan, 37, recently pleaded guilty in Macon County Superior Court to two counts of trafficking in opium or heroin.

Superior Court Judge Jesse Caldwell sentenced Levan to serve a minimum of 180 to a maximum of 240 months in the Division of Adult Corrections.

Additionally, the judge ordered Levan pay a mandatory $200,000 fine. Each count carries a $100,000 monetary punishment.

Intended as pain medicine, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can prove lethal in small doses. The illicit use of fentanyl is the primary driver of overdose deaths in the United States, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Sources told local law enforcement that prior to his arrest, Levan was “most likely” Macon County’s “biggest fentanyl dealer.”

On Sept. 21, 2021, Macon County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Matt Breedlove and K9 Deputy David Blanton stopped a vehicle on U.S. 441 south of Franklin. Levan was the driver.

As a result of the arrest, law enforcement seized about 37 grams of fentanyl.

“Since doses as tiny as two milligrams can prove lethal, this was a significant amount of fentanyl that was being shipped into this community,” Welch said.

Assistant District Attorney Jim Moore prosecuted the case.

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SCC and Mars Hill University partner on degree path

Graduates of Southwestern Community College who want to take the next step in their education by earning a bachelor’s degree now have a direct pathway to do so at Mars Hill University.

MHU President Dr. Tony Floyd and SCC President Dr. Don Tomas signed an agreement, creating the Mountain Lion-Southwestern Promise during an event at SCC’s campus in Sylva.

The program provides a streamlined process for Southwestern’s associate degree graduates to enroll at MHU. It’s designed to help students navigate the intricacies of admissions criteria, determine which community college credits will transfer to the four-year institution, fulfill general education requirements and address other potential issues that may arise when transferring.

The Mountain LionSouthwestern Promise gives SCC students access to information about academic programs faculty and staff at MHU who will facilitate their transition to the university. They will be able to receive admission, financial aid, registration and orientation communications early in the transition process, which will set them up for maximum success at both institutions.

SCC students will need to maintain a 2.0 grade point average, earn an associate degree in a college transfer program or applied program for which there is an articulation agreement with MHU, and enroll at MHU within one academic year after receiving their associate degree.

Students interested in the Mountain Lion-Southwestern Promise may contact Kristan Blanton, Director of Enrollment Management at SCC at k_blanton@southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4255 or Carolyn Kuzell, Associate Director of Admission at MHU at ckuzell@mhu.edu or 828.689.1589.

WCU’s Creasy named executive director

Todd Creasy, former school director, MBA program director and professor in the Master of Project Management program in Western Carolina University’s College of Business, has been named the executive director of the Corporation for Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the college.

Creasy brings to the CEI 12 years of service to WCU and prior business experience, including working with large publicly traded companies and entrepreneurs.

Approved by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, incorporated in the state of North Carolina and organized on Aug. 28, 2015, the CEI is a for-profit, C-Corporation dedicated to furthering the mission of the university and facilitating regional economic development.

In addition to Creasy, the CEI has doctorate faculty from WCU and experienced industry professionals available to help clients with various business needs.

To learn more about the CEI, visit wcucei.com.

Early childhood program receives re-accreditation

Haywood Community College’s Early Childhood Education Program recently received re-accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The program first received accreditation in 2015. NAEYC provides a mechanism for early childhood degree programs to demonstrate their commitment to high-quality professional preparation through the higher education accreditation system.

The mission of the accreditation system is to set a standard of excellence for early childhood degree programs and to recognize programs that have demonstrated they meet this standard, thereby benefiting the early childhood profession, young children, families and communities.

At HCC, students can pursue an associate degree or certificate in early childhood administration, early childhood preschool or infant/toddler care. Certificates can be completed in two semesters. The program at HCC is entirely online.

Spring registration is currently open. Classes

begin Jan. 11. For more information, visit haywood.edu or call 828.627.2821.

Blue Cross NC commits $10,000 to SCC

In an effort to make sure financial hardships don’t prevent students from completing their degrees, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has committed a gift of $10,000 to support Southwestern Community College’s Student Emergency Fund and Student Success Scholarship.

The Student Emergency Fund helps students when they encounter unexpected expenses, such as automobile repairs, that might otherwise make it impossible for them to remain in school.

Likewise, the Student Success Scholarship brings a college education within reach for multiple students every year through the SCC Foundation.

“Training the next generation of workers is important to improving health in North Carolina and giving more North Carolinians the opportunity to be healthy, especially in our state’s rural and

underserved communities,” said Cheryl Parquet, Director of Community Engagement and Marketing Activation for Blue Cross NC. “Community colleges help strengthen the state’s workforce. With this investment, we’re helping students who face financial burdens that make it difficult to advance their careers.”

Founded in 1964, Southwestern offers training for more than 40 career pathways as well as the most affordable option for starting toward a fouryear degree. Southwestern students save thousands of dollars in their first two years, compared to a four-year university.

For more information visit southwesterncc.edu, call 828.339.4000 or drop by your nearest SCC location.

Scholarship funds to honor careers of retiring WCU professors

Although the end of the 2022 fall semester brings to a close the careers of two popular Western Carolina University accountancy professors, it does not mean the end of their support for students in the College of Business.

That’s because N. Leroy Kauffman, a WCU faculty member since 1994, and Susan L. Swanger, a faculty member since 1997, have established separate scholarship funds to provide financial assistance to deserving accountancy students.

Swanger, who has served as director of WCU’s FORVIS Master’s Degree Program in Accountancy, has established the Susan Swanger, CPA, Ph.D., Professional Accountancy Endowed Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is designed to provide assistance to graduate students pursuing a career change to professional accountancy after completing an undergraduate degree in a field other than accounting.

Kauffman, a former dean of the College of Business, recently created the Dr. N. Leroy and Judy Kauffman Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will provide financial support to undergraduate students studying accountancy.

Originally launched in 2014, Swanger Scholarships have provided assistance to a total of 16 students to date. Additional contributions to the fund will increase the number of scholarships that can be awarded in the future, Grube said.

The Kauffman Scholarship is newly established, and the Kauffmans are offering to match contributions to the fund on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to $13,000.

A licensed certified public accountant, Swanger is a member of the American Accounting Association, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

To make a contribution to the Susan Swanger, CPA, Ph.D., Professional Accountancy Endowed Scholarship Fund, visit give.wcu.edu/swanger.

To make a contribution to the Dr. Leroy and Judy Kauffman Endowed Scholarship Fund, visit givecampus.com/schools/WesternCarolinaUniversit y/dr-n-leroy-and-judy-kauffman-endowed-scholarship#updates.

Don Tomas, left, SCC president, and Tony Floyd, Mars Hill University president shake hands after signing the agreement to create the Mountain LionSouthwestern Promise.

Can we slow the gentrification of WNC?

Dinner conversation last night with a young couple who live in New Zealand but are here for the holidays — he’s a native Kiwi, she’s from Haywood County — came around to how it seems this area is getting so many newcomers from all over the country. As 2022 draws to a close, you gotta wonder just how many more people will be moving to this region over the next few years, and subsequently, how it will change this place we call home.

It’s not easy being Western North Carolina. You’re one of the most popular places in this country but you want to maintain what made you special to begin with. That’s a balancing act for which is no operations manual, no one size fits all set of recommendations. It’s going to take creative, hands-on leadership and an involved citizenry.

We’ve all witnessed a crazy four or five years with lots of people choosing to move here, new developments, and housing prices skyrocketing. Anecdotally, those who pay attention know we are getting new residents from more far-flung parts of this country rather than just the Florida retirees and the Atlanta metro area visitors-turned-residents. But I’m a statistics person, so I went looking for numbers and found some interesting stuff on movebuddha.com, which tracks inquiries and other data from people moving from state to state. Here’s a sampling, a couple of nuggets that confirm what we all can see happening around us.

• From 2020 to 2021, North Carolina ranked No. 4 in the nation for population increase, with its population jumping another 93,985 residents, according to U.S. Census estimates. Only outdone by Texas, Florida and Arizona, North Carolina

joins this popular group of population winners. And for some of the same reasons; all boast fair weather, low taxes, and affordable costs.

• Three states account for approximately 30% of inflow into North Carolina from out of state. Of all searches for moves into North Carolina from other states in 2022, those from California made up 13.5%, Florida 9.3%, and New York 7.12%. So, nearly 30% of all people who came here in the last couple of years came from those three states.

I like living in a place with a whole bunch of interesting people. One of the reasons Western North Carolina is so popular is that it has this wonderful mix of multi-generational families who embrace traditional mountain values and ways of life, some relatively affluent retirees who often take leadership roles in nonprofits, churches and other organizations, and a growing number of well-educated newcomers who work remotely or come here determined to find a way to make a living so they too can call this place home.

When you mix up a stew of people from many different walks of life you get more flavor, some new ideas and perhaps a more well-rounded, interesting way of looking at things.

But there are also the problems — let’s call them challenges — that come with more people. I’m talking about traffic, more crime, more new development in places that upset

some people, and a growing sense of despair from those who see their dream of staying here and owning a home disappear as the gentrification of Western North Carolina stares them in the face. In November, the median home price in WNC was $375,000 and the average sales price was $455,803 (Canopy MLS). Our service sector workers and many others can’t buy at these prices.

According to MoveBuddha stats, Asheville is the thirdmost searched for city among those moving to North Carolina. Right now, Buncombe’s population is 276,000, a quarter of a million. Asheville is turning into a major city with issues those farther west don’t yet have to deal with. More and more people who might have considered moving to Asheville are now choosing the counties farther west, those in The Smoky Mountain News’ coverage area — Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, along with the Qualla Boundary.

All one has to do is look at the multi-family construction going on around Haywood County to see what’s happening. New neighborhoods, new apartment complexes, more condos and townhomes all going up now and more in the planning stages. It’s a bit unsettling.

Look for lots of coverage on these stories as we enter 2023. We are committed to examining these changes and how our region is dealing with them. If you’ve got growth, gentrification or affordable housing issues you think we need to write about, drop me a line or email. This is the issue facing this region, and so we are going to dive in.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)

Standing up for suffering women everywhere

Woman, life and freedom. These three words have inspired millions of Iranian women and others internationally. Unfortunately, all of this protest and activism occurring is something that has been happening (in one shape or another) for centuries when facing oppression from society, government, family and other systemic or closely tied relationships. While this discussion will be centered on Iranian women specifically, bodily autonomy and other freedoms are also being stripped from women right here in the states, meaning this is an issue that needs just as much awareness and coverage here as in Iran.

The trials and tribulations involved with the bodily freedoms of Iranian women have been happening for several decades. Tensions around the custom of wearing the hijab (scarf/hair covering), covering hair and concealing body parts began after the 1979 revolution. This is because religious fundamentalists took power over the country and people.

Due to the hijab becoming a hot topic for the new government, they decided to take away an Iranian women’s right to choose (sounds familiar, right?).

To combat this major and sudden change, many women began to resist and surely failed due to police violence and the forces of the Islamic government.

Quickly the hijab has become weaponized to control women, especially the younger generation of women.

Those who chose to wear chador (full-body dress/covering) received benefits from the government through advancements in their professional careers and social status.

However, the death of several victims by the morality police — such as 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was beaten to death — has ignited

a worldwide protest against such inhumanities. There are several other deaths being hidden by the Iranian government and police, including LGBTQ+ members, younger social media users (after a video of them dancing surfaced), surgeons and other countless unnamed women whose only mistake was existing.

Systemic structures such as the government, police, policymakers and other powerful political or religious figures keep their control intact by making sure there is compulsory conformity to one set of standards. Due to the influence of these powerful entities, some micro issues have risen to the surface. One such is that of “bad-hijabi’s,” which are known as women who only cover to the extent that they don’t break the law (two hair strands phenomenon). This can come through as social media protests and other forms of resistance online.

Many believe all these issues are due to Islam. A similar perspective is shared by many in America, which believe the national-

istic Christian belief system is to blame for many of the problems faced by women in this country. However, there are several other underlying deeply rooted factors that impact women such as the patriarchal structure, familial hierarchy, social status, religious/cultural ideologies and economic downturns.

How can we channel our outrage and be useful? This is a complicated question, as there is never a solid answer for how we can stand up for human rights. However, if there is one thing we can take away from this, it is that there is extreme power in the collective, and even more power held within our own voices. We must stand in solidarity with Iranian women and amplify their voices whether it be through discussion, social media, academic writings, protests and other outlets. A small voice can be the leader of a symphony of roars and screams.

(Brieanna Fragoso is a junior at Western Carolina majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology.)

Air the laundry. The Smoky Mountain News encourages readers to express their opinions through letters to the editor or guest columns. All viewpoints are welcome.

Send to Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainnews.com or mail to PO Box 629, Waynesville, NC, 28786

Editor Scott McLeod

Guest Columnist

Brieanna Fragoso

Trimming the tree and taking stock

My grandfather once told me that on Christmas Eve his family would go find a tree in the woods and then spend the evening trimming the tree and adorning it with lit candles. The family enjoyed its glory for one night only. He mentioned this story on several occasions and each time, his eyes would alight. What made it so magical for him was the brevity. When we know we only have a few hours to embrace an experience, we do not take it for granted.

Life occurs in pendulum swings. We tend to swing too far one way, then too far the other. We may settle in the middle for a while but eventually we begin to swing again. It’s the restlessness of human nature, I suppose. This philosophy has been at the forefront of my mind this holiday season.

Recently I’ve asked a few older people what they recall about their childhood Christmases. None of them mentioned traveling, overspending or getting a plethora of toys. A few mentioned one special toy they’ll always remember because it was something they’d wished and hoped for. One talked of stringing popcorn and berries when decorating the tree and another mentioned playing certain records during the season. Several mentioned Crhistmas being a time when they ate something special like ham, fresh fruit or chocolate. Everyone said they remember the feeling of Christmas above all else, and everyone wore an expression of nostalgia when reminiscing.

Many moving parts culminate to create this feeling that has become so meaningful to all of us. Family, friends, candlelight, cozy fires, gatherings, hanging stockings, kissing under mistletoes, baking cookies and pies, certain scents, carols, Advent wreaths and calendars, receiving cards in the mail, classic movies, seasonal foods, and writing letters to Santa combine to give us that special emotion that is “Christmas.”

Holiday traditions are essential to our species. Throughout evolution, primal rituals and celebrations have helped our tribes thrive. They make life predictable and comforting, which helps us feel safe. They nurture relationships among family members and within our communities. Traditions tie us to our past and offer a sense of belonging within our present circumstances.

Some of my favorite childhood memories include decorating the tree, lighting candles on the coffee table, baking cookies for Santa, watching Christmas movies, finding little scavenger hunt notes in our Advent calendar and drinking Russian tea.

I wonder what memories and traditions my boys will share when they are older. What toy, movie, or event will be high on

the list? This week we made handmade essential oil candles for their teachers, complete with dried herbs and orange peel. It was so fun that we hope to make this a new tradition. That’s the cool thing about traditions. They bend, change and expand through the years.

The COVID-19 pandemic was clearly horrible for a slew of reasons, but I believe it did something to our collective conscience that may be beneficial in the long run. The pandemic reminded me that the outside world can change at any moment, that the systems and structure I rely on can come to a sudden halt. With that in mind, I know the only thing I can trust is myself and the only thing I have control over are my own actions and reactions.

Further, the pandemic reminded me that life is short and fleeting. No day should be wasted. I like to think of each day as its own little bundle of gifts. When I wake up, I wonder: What will make me laugh today? What stranger will make me smile? What cool thing will one of my kids do? What adventure is waiting to be had? Granted, I still have my moments of overthinking and worrying, but I dwell on these senseless activities less than I did in the past.

Before the pandemic, I could get a little excessive when it came to Christmas. I probably spent too much money on gifts, tried to travel when it was exhausting or kept up traditions that maybe weren’t serving me anymore. Now, I’ve come to realize that while some holiday rituals are worth keeping, it’s hard to enjoy anything if busyness and stress are at the forefront.

The older generations, like my grandfather and the folks I asked about their memories, had it right all those years ago. They didn’t have Amazon, Spotify or the internet. They didn’t have ongoing, nonstop access to everything. If they wanted to watch a Christmas movie, they had to wait until it came on TV. If they really wanted a toy, they had to wait to see if Santa brought it on Christmas Eve. They were masters of patience, even if they didn’t want to be.

Here’s the thing we must remind ourselves and teach our children. Just because we have access to everything doesn’t mean we have to consume it at gluttonous speed. To honor those who came before us and to ensure our own memories are intact, we must slow life down and delay gratification.

After many years of overdoing it and worrying about appearances, I feel like the pendulum is swinging back the other way, at least for me. Whenever I get caught up in the hoopla and hustle bustle, I think of my sweet grandfather and his family enjoying the Christmas tree for that one wondrous night. With that thought, my entire perception changes.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

(Susanna Shetley is writer, editor and digital medial specialist. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com)

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Word from the Smokies

BY M IKE H EMBREE

The staying power of Smokey Bear

Many people of a certain age have a special affection for Smokey Bear, or “Smokey the Bear,” as he has also been called.

I remember reading Smokey’s story — how he was rescued from a wildfire in New Mexico in 1950 and became the symbol of fire awareness in the woods for generations. Posters and signs showing Smokey in a park ranger hat were ubiquitous in those first years after the bear’s appearance on the national stage.

As a kid riding in our family’s old Chevrolet into Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I made an immediate connection between Smokey and the Smokies and assumed that the names somehow were related. I admit, however, that I was confused about the two spellings: “Smokey” for the bear and “Smoky” for the park. I couldn’t reconcile that disparity in my young brain, and I’m sure the two spellings still confuse some folks.

Smokey’s story is one of survival against the odds. As fire swept through the Capitan Mountains in New Mexico, the black bear cub became trapped and apparently orphaned by the blaze. He climbed into a tree and managed to escape the worst of the flames but nevertheless sustained badly burned paws and legs before a firefighting crew found him.

After the cub was treated for his burns in Santa Fe and news of his harrowing experience continued to spread, he was made into

a popular icon for fire prevention by the U.S. Forest Service and eventually relocated to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. There, Smokey lived out his days becoming such a celebrity that the U.S. Postal Service granted him his own ZIP code to accommodate the fan mail.

After his death in 1976, Smokey was buried in a place of honor at Smokey Bear Historical Park in New Mexico. Often depicted with a firefighting shovel, Smokey remains a striking symbol for conservation and responsible stewardship across numerous landscapes — even if the nuances of his fire-prevention message have evolved over the years.

Today, SmokeyBear.com continues to share information about campfire safety, but Smokey’s website also features educational resources about fire science and the ecological benefits of fire for different ecosystems. Keeping pace with more contemporary understandings of fire ecology, Smokey helps young people learn about the oak-hickory forests and Southern pine communities that rely on fire disturbance to remove shade, reduce leaf litter on the forest floor, and disperse the seeds of certain trees with serotinous cones, like the Table Mountain pine found in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Smokey

rejuvenate the landscape.

This fall, a team including Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Appalachian Piedmont Coastal Fire staff conducted prescribed burn operations in the Cades Cove area of the park. Although shifting weather conditions prevented the team from burning the entire 1,200-acre target area, the operation still helped to reduce fuels, restore meadow habitat for wildlife, and trial the use of drones to safely set and monitor the progress of fires in the park.

“It has been a pleasure to watch the current fire staff and other park staff involve-

resume in spring of 2023 and credits the success this fall to the close coordination of several partner organizations including the Nature Conservancy, Tennessee Department of Forestry–Blount County, the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Eastern Cherokee Agency, Townsend Volunteer Fire Department, and Cherokee National Forest.

Although controlled burns have been a routine part of park management for the last 20 years, the dangers posed by unplanned wildfires are still quite real in the Smokies, particularly during dry periods. On Sunday, Nov. 7, a motorcycle accident along Highway

Smokey still sticks by his old catchphrase — “Only you can prevent wildfires.” But his message also acknowledges the importance of controlled burning and the long history of Native Americans using fire to reshape and

ment at all levels to see the completion of two burns, at Cable House and Sparks Lane, for a combined 250 acres,” said Fire Management Officer Brian Tonihka. “The team acknowledging weather patterns to ensure that we meet the objectives over just having completed acres is a testament to the professionalism amongst the fire staff in how prescribed burns should be managed.”

Tonihka says the strategic burns will

129 on the western boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park ignited a roadside wildfire that eventually impacted 40 acres before it was reported to be fully contained two days later. Approximately 60 wildland firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service assisted in fire suppression operations, which included hand-digging firebreak lines and aerial support from helicopter crews.

In the United States, nearly nine out of 10 unplanned wildfires are caused by humans, which means it’s more important than ever to pay attention to our old pal Smokey. Over at SmokeyBear.com, you can take the Smokey pledge:

• Be careful anytime you use fire or items that can cause sparks.

• Never leave your fire unattended.

• Drown, stir, drown again, and feel it’s cool with the back of your hand when you put out your fire.

• Do NOT use fire or operate equipment when it’s windy, dry, or hot.

• Make sure there are at least 15 feet between your fire and flammable things.

• Always have a water source nearby.

• Put out and discard smoking materials properly.

• Do NOT dump hot ashes from your BBQ grill or firepit.

Mike Hembree is a veteran journalist and the author of 14 books. He has visited 26 national parks and hopes to add many more to that list.

Great Smoky Mountains Association Publications Associate Aaron Searcy provided an editorial update for this article after the November 2022 GSMNP fire.

The controlled burn operations in Cades Cove this fall were the first to use drone technology to set and monitor fires in the park. Drones can safely ignite fires in areas that pose increased risk to fire personnel and offer a cost-effective alternative to aerial support from helicopters.

Provided by NPS. Jordan Black photo

After recovering from his burns in Santa Fe, Smokey Bear was flown in a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser airplane to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he lived for 26 years.

received so many letters the U.S. Postal Service granted him his own postal code. Public domain photo

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Remember

Sunday morning. Across the globe, Argentina and France were battling it out in the World Cup soccer final in Qatar. Half-a-world away, and yet I was already a half-hour late for the early morning “Bloody Marys & Futbol” party up the mountain ridge outside of town at my friend’s house.

Rolling over to check the time on my smart phone, I groaned that I had slept in and missed the start of the game, even though I was wide awake at 6 a.m. After some restless scrolling on Instagram and wandering down into a YouTube rabbit hole of videos, I fell back into sleep, only to open my eyes again at 10:30 a.m.

I suppose if the United States were still in the fight, I’d have shot out of bed and made my way to the party. Though, by all accounts, this year’s final was a game for the ages. But, whatever the case, something deep inside me didn’t feel like watching the match. And, for me, I’ll always follow that instinct way down below in my gut.

That feeling deep inside told me, “Slow down, it’s been a long, whirlwind year. How ‘bout actually taking the time to make yourself breakfast, at your own pace, and with how many pieces of bacon your damn little heart desires?” Thankfully, I’d listened to that feeling deep down the night before, when I was grocery shopping, ultimately picking up a robust packet of bacon, eggs, yogurt, berries, and cold brew coffee. Truth be told, it felt nice to go grocery shopping at my local Ingles on Russ Avenue in Waynesville. I couldn’t begin to remember the last time I stepped foot in there. I’ve been on the road so much this year — on writing assignments coast-to-coast or merely due to family obligations up in the North Country — that I was rarely home enough to justify buying groceries for myself, seeing as past experiences resulted in uneaten food being thrown away. Money wasted, a no-no for us scrappy, vagabond writers and ole road dogs.

So, it was decided. Screw the World Cup. I want bacon, eggs, yogurt, berries, and cold brew coffee. Nowhere to be, but here right now in my humble abode apartment. Pull up the window blinds. Look out onto downtown Waynesville in the mid-morning hour. Throw some Mile Davis “Kind of Blue” on the stereo, skip ahead to “Blue in Green,” then put the rest of the seminal jazz album on shuffle.

After a joyous breakfast for one, after washing the dishes and putting them away, after taking the last sip of my cold brew coffee, it was time for a little bit of writing. My personal philosophy is to live each day in three parts: constructive creation, physical movement, and purposeful leisure. A full day, indeed.

The idea being, in essence, I can’t have a cold beer and some fun until I go for a run or exercise and “sweat it out,” and I can’t

HOT PICKS

1Haywood County rock group The Brothers Gillespie will hit the stage for its annual “Christmas Eve Eve Bash” at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 23, at The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in downtown Waynesville.

2Regional country/rock artist Jon Cox will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, at The Scotsman in Waynesville.

3Orchard Coffee (Waynesville) will host Young Mister (singersongwriter) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 23.

4Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Kind Clean Gentlemen (rock/blues) 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22.

5Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host Old Sap (Americana/folk) 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22.

aware of that fact. Every other screen was packed for the new “Avatar” sequel. My screen was mostly empty. Myself and four other sentimental, old souls on an otherwise quiet Sunday afternoon watching a film that most of us have only watched on TV. Immediately, I felt a tug at my heart when “It’s a Wonderful Life” appeared on the screen. I also realized it was the first real action on my part to acknowledge and appreciate the current holiday season. Something about classic cinema that just does it for me, hitting all the feels, you know? Especially when its Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed playfully interacting before your eyes, “What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.”

Thursday December 22nd

Friday December 23

Celtic Sundays

exercise until I’ve done some work. Doesn’t have to be a lot of work, but at least something to say and feel that my day wasn’t wasted in the endless pursuit of long held dreams in real time.

Type away wildly with the lingering effects of the caffeine from the cold brew. Put thoughts and emotions onto the empty page. Attach to an email to your editor. Submit. Put the window blinds back down. Turn off the Miles Davis on the stereo. Reach for the outdoor running gear. Lace up the shoes. Lock the front door. Start trotting around downtown.

Circling back to the apartment, I felt that deep feeling again, but this time it said, “You haven’t been to the movies in a while. What’s playing?” Well, turns out there was a special holiday screening of the 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” A $12.50 purchase later, I had a ticket for the 4:30 p.m. showing.

For one of the greatest films ever conceived to once again resurface in a modernera theater was a truly unique thing to behold, but it seemed I was one of the few

By the end of the film, when Stewart reads the card from Clarence the Angel — the iconic “Remember no man is a failure who has friends” part — I felt the heaviness that I’d been carrying for a while now slowly evaporate from the depths of my soul. All that sadness and grief weighing me down from personal losses throughout the last couple of years (hell, any year) chipped away and fell to the ground like ice.

There was a kick in my step leaving the theater, as does happen when the heart sings in curious wonder and sincere gratitude after an experience such as that, a certain melody ringing through my mind, “Buffalo Gals can’t you come out tonight. Can’t you come out tonight.”

The rollercoaster of existence. The ebb and flow of the highs and lows. Even in the deepest depths, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. Remember, nothing matters except love, friendship, and dreams chased after with a reckless abandon. That, and throwing as many pieces of bacon onto the frying pan as your damn little heart desires.

Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.

Friday December 30th

no man is a failure who has friends

Trail running in Haywood County. (Garret K. Woodward photo)

Lloyd said. “So, I knew I was going to have to figure out a way to stay here once the [‘Visiting Artist Program’] was over.”

Thus, Lloyd approached HART and asked if they would hire him as the executive director. HART said yes and so began Lloyd’s career in charge of a small, yet growing theatre company, one with unlimited potential. Sure, there will endless bills to be paid and things that needed to be done, but there were butts in the seats every single show.

“One of the reasons I knew I could grow this theatre was because everything that I did here drew packed houses at The Strand — the support for the arts in this community was unbelievable,” Lloyd said.

But, growing pains soon emerged in the early 1990s, with HART trying to find stable ground — literally and figuratively. While balancing a moving target of a budget and trying (successfully) to make a profit, Lloyd knew HART’s tenure at The Strand was coming to an end.

“I had two seasons there [as executive director] before the fire marshal kicked us out,” Lloyd chuckled. “The building was not up to code and the owner of the building was not willing to put any money into it. And we couldn’t invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into something we were renting.”

In 1992, HART found refuge at the auditorium in HCC, a place it called home until it finally had a permanent home of its own with the grand opening of the 10,000-squre-foot Performing Arts Center on the campus of The Shelton House in 1997.

Through two highly successful capital campaigns, one to erect the PAC, and later the 9,000-square-foot Daniel & Belle Fangmeyer Theatre (opening in 2016), Lloyd will always be grateful to the kind, generous donations from the general public — those longtime supporters who believed in HART’s mission to showcase quality arts and culture productions right here in our backyard.

“[The PAC] cost $850,000 in 1997. We opened it with a couple hundred thousand dollars already towards the mortgage, and it was paid for by 2001,” Lloyd said. “And the [Fangmeyer Theatre] cost $1.3 million — we burned that mortgage last month.”

Aside from an endless sea of volunteers and local folks steadfast in keeping the HART ship pushing ahead, Lloyd also pointed to the

mere fact the theatre company has always worked within its means.

“We have a budget and we stick to it,” Lloyd said. “It’s a realistic budget, a conservative budget. We don’t do crazy stuff. I mean, we take risks, we’ve done shows that nobody else has the courage to do. But, we also make sure we’ve got ‘The Music Man’ in the middle of the summer to pay for everything.”

Of the hundreds and hundreds (upwards of 400) of HART productions that occurred under Lloyd’s watch — either at the PAC or the Fangmeyer, through Kids at HART or the black box stage known as the Feichter Studio — he’s most proud of putting on the musical “Parade” in 2000, a dramatization of the 1913 trial and imprisonment (and 1915 lynching) of Jewish American Leo Frank in Georgia.

“It is a spectacularly beautiful, powerful piece. And I don’t know of any other theatre that’s had the guts to do it,” Lloyd said. “We did a great production of that, and the community turned out and supported it — I’m really proud of that.”

When asked what was the biggest obsta-

cle overcome in his career, Lloyd immediately pointed to the survival of HART through the 2020 pandemic — the immense effort to keep the lights on come hell or high water, the donations arriving in the mail before the theatre company was able to get federal grants and loans to stay afloat.

“We shut down on March 13, [2020], and if we had to refund everything to everybody that had paid ahead of time, we’d have been broke by April 1st,” Lloyd said. “Our patrons told us to keep the money. And people sent us money without us going out and asking — they just wanted to make sure we survived.”

Reflecting on the last 33 years at HART, Lloyd can vividly recall every single performance. But, more importantly, he can still picture and visualize every single actor, director, and stage hand that stepped foot onto the stage — his stage, one of passion, compassion, and inclusivity.

“The buildings are one thing, but the things that happened in these buildings — all the people who met each other, children who have come into this world because of those

people meeting, and the shows that were done to bring people together — this theatre changed this community,” Lloyd said in a humbled tone.

Taking over Lloyd’s duties as executive director in the New Year will be Candice Dickinson, an extremely talented actor and performer who has held the position of artistic director at HART in recent years.

“[Candice] has a vision of what she wants to do, and that’s reinvigorating — she’s bubbly and vivacious, and has the energy to do this,” Lloyd said. “I don’t have anything left on my bucket list [for shows to direct]. And it’s nice to step away and let the younger generation have their chance, let somebody else have their turn — I’ve had my turn for 33 years.”

In a whimsical, full circle kind of thing, Lloyd can’t help but laugh in awe of the notion of him once again, now in retirement, working the concession stand at HART — a gig he hasn’t had since he first entered show business working as a young kid for his grandparents’ carnival those many years ago.

“[Stepping down] is a little surreal. Like anything you’ve been part of for such a long time, it’s been incremental in the way it has grown. But, it’s strange to walk around here and look at everything, and know when something was bought, and when it came into the building,” Lloyd said, slowing scanning the walls of his office, peering out his door and into the Fangmeyer building its situated in.

With his official retirement now less than two weeks away, Lloyd is looking forward to more quality time with his seven grandchildren, who, lately, have been the lucky recipients of numerous homemade dishes of culinary delights — cooking being one of the many new hobbies Lloyd is immersing himself in these days.

“You know, it meant a lot when they named the [main stage] theatre for me,” Lloyd said. “It means a lot because people are forgotten pretty quickly. And I have seven grandchildren now — and that’s going to mean something to them.”

Lloyd and his husband, Daniel Miller (left). (Donated photo)

“It’s nice to step away and let the younger generation have their chance, let somebody else have their turn — I’ve had my turn for 33 years.”

— Steven Lloyd

Steven Lloyd. (Garret K. Woodward photo)

On the beat

Brothers

Popular Haywood County rock group The Brothers Gillespie will hit the stage for its annual “Christmas Eve Eve Bash” at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 23, at The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in downtown Waynesville.

With its latest album release, “American Pastoral,” the band itself remains a steadfast, hard-nosed rag-tag bunch of genuinely talented musicians, each as hungry and determined as the next to prove themselves in the studio,

Country, rock at The Scotsman

Regional country/rock artist Jon Cox will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, at The Scotsman in Waynesville.

The Asheville singer-songwriter rolls through an array of classic country gold and rock melodies. Known as “high-energy outlaw music,” Cox is a rising voice in Western North Carolina.

Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.

but more so onstage — the setting by which The Brothers Gillespie have truly defined and set themselves apart from local and regional counterparts.

Former Soldier’s Heart members Caleb Burress & Chance Kuehn will kick things off, followed by Ben & The Borrowed Band. Admission is $5 at the door.

For more information on The Brothers Gillespie, click on brothersgillespie.com.

Interested in learning the dulcimer?

The Pic’ & Play Mountain Dulcimer Players will be resuming in-person jam sessions at the St. John’s Episcopal Church basement fellowship hall in Sylva.

The group welcomes all beginners and experienced dulcimer players, including mountain (lap) dulcimer and hammered dulcimer players. Songs played include traditional mountain tunes, hymns, and more modern music. The group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of every month in the basement of St. John’s.

Pic’ & Play has been playing together since

1995. The more experienced members welcome new players, help them navigate their instruments, and guide them through some of the basics of tuning, strumming, and playing.

The mountain dulcimer, also known as a fretted dulcimer or a lap dulcimer, is a uniquely American instrument. It evolved from the German scheitholz sometime in the early 1800s in Appalachia and was largely known only in this region until popularized more broadly in the 1950s.

For more information, call Kathy Jaqua at 828.349.3930 or Don Selzer at 828.293.0074.

Jon Cox. (Wayne Ebinger photo)

On the beat

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8 to 10 p.m. every Thursday. Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7 to 9 p.m. every first and third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public. For more information, click on blueridgebeerhub.com.

Wednesday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host a New Year’s Eve party with The V8s 9 p.m. Dec. 31. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host karaoke at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and The Brothers Gillespie “Christmas Eve Eve Bash” (rock/soul) 8:30 p.m. Dec. 23 ($5 at the door). All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.

ALSO:

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Orchard Sessions” on select dates. Tickets start at $25 per person. For tickets, click on oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.

• Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. For tickets, click on folkmoot.org.

• Fontana Village Resort Wildwood Grill will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 800.849.2258 or fontanavillage.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Kind Clean Gentlemen (rock/blues) 5:30 p.m. Dec. 22 and John Friday (singer-songwriter) Dec. 30. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.

• Frog Quarters (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. Located at 573 East Main St. littletennessee.org or 828.369.8488.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host semi-regular live music and entertainment on the weekends. For a full schedule of events and/or to buy tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Trivia Night with Kirk” from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday, Open Mic Night every Wednesday, Old Sap (Americana/folk) Dec. 22 and Andrew Wakefield (singer-songwriter) Dec. 29. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” with Hibiscus Sunshine every

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Trivia Night at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, Old Time Jam 6:30 p.m. every Thursday and a New Year’s Eve party with Urban Soil (reggae/soul) 9 p.m. Dec. 31. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Meadowlark Motel (Maggie Valley) will host A. Lee Edwards & Matt Royal (Americana/folk) 7 p.m. Dec. 30. Dinner will also be served onsite at its restaurant HomeCraft. Beer and wine available. Seated show. Reservations recommended. To RSVP, call 828.926.1717.

• Moss Valley (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. Food trucks and beverages available onsite. Bring a lawn chair. Presented by Drake Software.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Open Mic Night with Ivor Sparks every Wednesday, Steve Heffker (singer-songwriter) Dec. 23 and 31, and Mountain Gypsy (Americana/folk) Dec. 30 All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.641.9797 or nantahalabrewing.com.

• Orchard Coffee (Waynesville) will host Young Mister (singer-songwriter) 7:30 p.m. Dec. 23. Admission is $20 per person. Tickets available at the shop. 828.246.9264 or orchardcoffeeroasters.com.

• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. every Tuesday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.586.1717 or facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.369.6796.

• Saltys Dog’s Seafood & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.926.9105.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will

Old Sap returns to Innovation

Americana/folk singer-songwriter Old Sap will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, at Innovation Brewing in Sylva.

According to him, Old Sap is a “Poet from Chicago, rambled out to Montana, cut a banjo from a tamarack, strings across the country, foot like a freight train, voice rushing down over lush Appalachia, sings a thrush tune through the rush hour and into your long-forgotten prairie dreams.”

Free and open to the public. For more about Old Sap, click on oldsapmusic.com.

host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.482.9794 or satulahmountainbrewing.com.

• Sauced (Waynesville) will host Tanner Burch (singer-songwriter) 8 p.m. Dec. 30. Free and open to the public. 828.246.9585 or saucedwnc.com

• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host The Carter Giegerich Trio (Celtic/bluegrass) from 2 to 5 p.m. every Sunday, Jon Cox (country/rock) Dec. 22, We Three Swing (jazz) Dec. 23, Bridget Gossett (singer-songwriter) Dec. 29 and TracEnd (rock/pop) 9 p.m. Dec. 30. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.

• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.

• Southern Porch (Canton) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.492.8009 or southern-porch.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.743.3000 or theuglydogpub.com.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Paradise 56 Dec. 22, Genepool Dec. 23, Blackjack Country Dec. 29, Macon County Line Dec. 30 and Tricia Ann & Genepool Dec. 31. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.

• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host Keil Nathan Smith (singer-songwriter) Dec. 22, Karaoke w/Jason Dec. 23, 27 and 30, The Laurel River Connection Dec. 29 and a New Year’s Eve Bash 7 p.m. Dec. 31. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 9:30 p.m. 828.456.4750 or facebook.com/waternhole.bar.

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.743.6000 or whitesidebrewing.com.

• Wine Bar & Cellar (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.631.3075 or facebook.com/thewinebarandcellar.

• Yonder Community Market (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. Donations encouraged. 828.200.2169 or eatrealfoodinc.com.

Old Sap. (File photo)

BRYSON CITY

• “Christmas Hayrides Through the Lights” will run on Wednesdays through Saturdays until Dec. 23 at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Enjoy the hayride and a cup of hot cocoa. Limited seating available. Reservations are priority with limited walk-ins. There will also be a “Santa’s Workshop” onsite. darnellfarms.com or call 828.488.2376.

• The popular “Polar Express” train ride will resume rides on select dates from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot in downtown Bryson City. For a complete listing of departure dates and times, call 800.872.4681 or click on gsmr.com.

• “Letters to Santa, Cocoa & Cookies” is now being offered by the Swain County Heritage Museum and Visitor Center in Bryson City. Complimentary hot cocoa and cookies. Kids will love the opportunity to write and mail their letters to Santa. Materials provided, with the last day to submit letters being Christmas Eve. greatsmokies.com.

• “Christmas Lights Drive-Thru” will run through Dec. 31 at the Great Smoky Mountains Event Park (formerly Inspiration Park) in Bryson City. For more information, a full schedule of activities and/or to purchase tickets, click on greatsmokies.com/christmas-light-show-bryson-city.

FRANKLIN

• “Winter Wonderland Nights” is now underway in Franklin. Downtown will feature living window displays of the holidays, live sounds of the season outdoors at the gazebo and inside stores, free holiday attractions (weather permitting), refreshments, hot cider, great sales from local merchants, and much more. The celebration will continue throughout the holidays in December. franklin-chamber.com.

SYLVA

• A screening of “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch” will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, in the Community Room at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. There will be special snacks, crafts and games before the movie. The event is free and open to the public. Cosponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. For more information, call the library at 828.586.2016. The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library (fontanalib.org).

WAYNESVILLE

• “Strand of Lights” drive-thru light show will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 30 at the Smoky Mountain Event Center (formerly the Haywood County Fairgrounds). Tickets for the nightly show are available online at

FRANKLIN RUBY DROP

The ninth annual “Ruby Drop” New Year’s Eve celebration will begin at 10 pm. Saturday, Dec. 31, at Motor Company Grill in downtown Franklin. Free and open to the public. 828.524.0099

38main.com, with only 100 cars per onehour time slot. This helps reduce wait time and traffic congestion for a more enjoyable experience. Admission is $20 per vehicle. The drive-thru winds around the Smoky Mountain

Event Center campus for nearly one-mile. Play your favorite carols (and sing-along) as the route takes you past numerous 2D displays, mixed with lighted buildings and holiday experiences throughout.

A special “Black Tie Event” New Year’s Eve celebration will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

The evening will include a four-course dinner and champagne toast. The courses will include the following: English shrimp cocktail, choice of filet with twice baked potato, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus or mushroom and truffle ravioli with Boursin cream sauce and asparagus, Valrhona chocolate cake, and complimentary champagne toast.

As well, there will be live music provided by Nashville recording artist Mean Mary & Frank James.

Admission is $130 per person, which includes tax and gratuity. Reservations required. To RSVP, call 828.452.6000.

ALSO:

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines. Educational classes and other events are also available. For more information, call 828.538.0420.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or click on gsmr.com.

On the wall

HCAC ‘Small Works’ exhibit

The Haywood County Arts Council’s (HCAC) “Small Works” exhibit will run through Dec. 31 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville.

The annual exhibit that expands the types of work for sale in the downtown Waynesville gallery, as well as who can display their work. Other than specially curated exhibits, which occur a couple times annually, this exhibit is the only one that allows any artist within the western mountain region to participate for a small fee.

With dozens of artists participating, the exhibit promises to be eclectic. Although the only requirement is that the pieces be 12 inches in any dimension or smaller, HCAC

challenged participants who are making holiday themed works to consider artistic expressions that are multicultural in nature and celebrate the many different holidays, ways of celebrating, and ways of experiencing holidays.

HCAC also encouraged participants to create works that celebrate Appalachian heritage and craft.

“Our vision is that this exhibit embodies not only the giving spirit, but also a multi-cultural spirit that speaks to the diversity of people, cultures, and religions that make up Appalachia,” Beryl said.

For more information, click on haywoodarts.org.

• “Christmas Dinner” will be served from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 25, at the First Baptist Church in Franklin. Sponsored by Macon County CareNet and First Baptist Church. Volunteers needed. Free and open to the public. 828.369.2642.

ALSO:

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of

workshops for adults and kids. For more information on the upcoming classes and/or to sign-up, click on southwesterncc.edu/scclocations/swain-center.

• Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro will host an array of upcoming art classes and workshops. For more information and a full schedule of activities, click on dogwoodcrafters.com/classes.html or call 828.586.2248.

A work by Bonnie Calhoun.

Dreams and near dreams — a return to the 60s

Baron Wormser, who is a former Poet Laureate of Maine, has a new novel titled “Some Months in 1968” (Woodhall Press, 2022, 344pgs) that has an image of a draft card on the cover and is a must-read for all of us 1960s Boomers. This is a chance to relive those gloriously decadent years in a book that almost amounts to a fictional memoir from the viewpoint of an author who lived them, too.

Placed in the city of Baltimore in the year 1968, Wormser’s book is divided into monthly chapters in that year, beginning with January and ending in June. In these six months the author has created a family of five very different members to discuss the history here in the U.S. from very personal perspectives that put us right in the center of the 60s capturing its values, actions and vibes.

In a book that reads like a screenplay, complete with 60s jargon, places (Chicago, San Francisco, Baltimore, New York); 60s musical hits and heroes (Hendrix — “All Along the Watchtower,” The Who — “My Generation,” Janis Joplin, The Temptations, James Brown, Cream —“I’m So Glad”— Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish — “Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag,” — Simon & Garfunkel—“The Sounds of Silence;” writers (Lenny Bruce, Jack Kerouac, Thoreau, Vonnegut, Hesse); and political activists (Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown...).

And then there is the food (Spam, The Jolly Green Giant, Chef Boy-Ar-Dee, Jell-O, Snickers bars; the cars (Desoto, Dodge Dart, Rambler, GTO); TV (“Bonanza,” “Dr. Who,” “Star Trek,” “Dragnet,” “American Bandstand”). All if this is referenced in clear and present conversations of independent thinking and philosophical wisdom by the Brownson family members (parents Daniel and Helen, and children Tom, Sharon, and Herb) and the larger-than-life characters of LBJ and Ho Chi Minh and their trials and tribulations. All of these addressing subjects of the draft, The Vietnam War, the anti-war and Black Power movements, the assassinations (the Kennedys, ML King), and the youthful testosterone-driven trials and tribulations of high school and college-aged kids — all reminders of our generational goals and our dreams and what we did not

Sylva monthly book club

achieve.

In cleverly titled short chapter sections and shifts in subjects and characters, we hitchhike through “Some Months in 1968” with Wormser from “serious record stores” to Quaker meeting, to draft board hearings for conscientious objectors, to Black Power

to understand that politics was the opposite. It was always stuck: stuck in money, in prejudice, in worshiping power, in talking about a better world when it offered no real way to that world.”

On the other side of the coin in the chapter for the month of May, we have son Tom’s perspective on the whole scene and situation as he’s talking to his younger brother Herb: “I doubt if books will prove anything, but they’ve made me think, which is more than college did. About stuff I didn’t know existed. Other ways of looking at what we’re doing. Big picture stuff. The only word that comes to mind is a word I never thought about, a word you never hear, which is sacred, meaning you don’t want to be killing people. You want to understand how Jesus was about peace and how some people have lived it, people I’ve been reading about, like the Quakers, like Reverend King, people who understood that life is precious.”

protests, to Mary Jane parties and more. In one of the major themes of the book, Son Tom has dropped out of college and has decided to become a conscientious objector due to his introduction to the Quaker faith. This storyline combined with the political histories of LBJ’s presidency and the life of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, give us a real sense of the politics and the spiritual focus of that year and those times. In the chapter for the month of March, we hear lawyer-father Daniel saying “Laws can step all over people on the one hand and, on the other make people feel they’re going to be taken care of. But only people can really take care of one another. Two wrongs don’t make a right. But that’s what too much politics is to me: two wrongs trying to make a right.”

And we have Wormser representing Lyndon Johnson in the section titled “Advisor to Stricken Humanity” which states that “Politics was always talk about going forward (or pretending to), but Lyndon came

From here on out we’re pretty much finished with the teenage themes of sweethearts and symbiosis, rock and roll and religion and finish the book with a focus on the spiritual aspects of conscience, epitomized by a paraphrazing of the thoughts of Ho Chi Minh concerning one of this book’s major themes: the Vietnam War and the role of the U.S. in that war. “What had the imperialists with their vaunted universities, banks, parliaments, and foreign offices offered him? The answer was simple: He and his people were not real, at best exotic and at worst subhuman, possessions more than people, because the economy that ground them up was about possessions and was driven by profit. What was the importance of the “profit” that so many lives must be sacrificed in its name? What did this “profit” do for the human race? Did it breed more compassion or love or caring or wisdom?” Questions from 50 years ago that we can easily carry over to today and the world we are currently living in.

(Thomas Crowe is a regular contributer to The Smoky Mountain News and author of the multi-award-winning non-fiction nature memoir “Zoro’s Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods.”)

A monthly book club is being currently offered at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Each month, a library staff member will be discussing some of the new book titles that the library has received. Particular attention will be paid to “under the radar” titles and authors, new releases, and other books that the staff is excited about. All are welcome and no registration is required. For more information on when the club will meet, please call the library at 828.586.2016. This club is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. The JCPL is a member of Fontana Regional Library (fontanalib.org).

Writer Thomas Crowe

Building a better Christmas tree

Research station aims to provide world’s best firs

BY B RANDON H ERRING CONTRIBUTING W RITER

Like any other farmers, Christmas trees growers in Western North Carolina are always looking for ways to grow more and better product.

For decades now, researchers have been working on a not-so-secret weapon — improving Fraser fir genetics. Those improvements can bring more characteristics that Christmas tree buyers like and more characteristics that growers like too.

Thanks to those efforts with genetics, plans are in the works to create a Fraser fir seed bank at the Upper Mountain Research Station in southeastern Ashe County. It would be the nation’s only source of certified Fraser fir seeds — seeds that have been tightly controlled by sourcing only from “parents” and “grandparents” with the most desirable features for both consumers and growers.

TAKING CHRISTMAS TREES

TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Teresa Lambert, the director of the Research Stations Division for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, explained the hope is to create a source of seeds that’s so refined that Christmas tree growers can pick seeds with the characteristics they want most. For example, they could order seeds from the seed bank to grow trees that have the best needle retention or the best uniformity, a shorter growth cycle or a later “break-bud” time. Lambert envisions it being much like corn seed these days (or many other crops and plants for that matter). Corn growers have entire catalogues where they can pick from corn varieties that are resistant to certain diseases or that have a certain germination and growth schedule. She wants to see those types of options provided by the bank, which she’s tentatively calling the “Fraser Fir Center of Excellence.”

Much of the ongoing Fraser fir breeding program would be based at the center, and it’s safe to say it would provide seeds with the best Fraser fir genetics in the world.

“We want to be a turnkey Fraser fir operation from start to finish, which means we want to collect the pollen. We want to make the hand crosses. We want to collect the seed. We want to extract the seed. We want to grow the seed in our nursery. We want to put those seeds into field trials. We want to harvest those trees and do the post-harvest research,” Taylor said.

The station has secured a $383,685 grant from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to kickstart construction of the

seed bank building, and on Nov. 18 ground broke on the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Christmas Tree Center of Excellence. In addition to housing a seed bank of the world’s most elite Fraser fir seeds, the building will hold a lab and office space to fully support N.C. State’s Fraser fir breeding program, the Whitehill Lab Christmas Tree Genetics Program.

The new building will help Christmas tree farming remain a viable agricultural business even as challenges remain or evolve. With less tobacco being grown, the center could help make Christmas trees a more profitable option for farmers.

IN THE WEEDS OF GETTING GOOD SEEDS

The effort to get the finest Fraser fir seeds possible began mostly with professor John Frampton of N.C. State University. He retired

in 2019, but his work began many years ago. He set out to create a genetic “bloodline” of Fraser firs that would have the ultimate in characteristics such as uniformity, needle retention, disease or insect resistance or even faster growth rate. Because it takes several years to grow a Christmas tree, increasing the speed of “rotation” or “turnover” time could increase a grower’s income over several years.

“It’s hard to explain that — a career’s worth of work. He retired, and six or eight years from now we’ll start to see the benefits,” Taylor said. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around that and how long it takes.”

Taylor said Frampton went to all sorts of areas where Fraser firs grow naturally and got seeds from more than 28,000 trees, which meant he had a lot of genetic diversity from areas near and far. By the early 2000’s, he was growing those “offspring” into transplants and evaluating them in the nursery and in field trials across Western North Carolina. He then identified the best Christmas trees, ultimately picking only 305 (slightly more than 1%) to graft and plant in a clone bank field at the Upper Mountain Research Station in 2008. His testing for good traits continued by taking seed from those 305 premium trees in the orchard. From those seeds, he grew and tested more transplants and trees.

By 2015, Frampton told Taylor that the research station should start a seed orchard because growers couldn’t easily find great Fraser fir seeds like what he was growing in his 305-tree plot. Few seed orchards existed for various reasons, so seed stock often came from the wild where each tree’s genetics were hit or miss.

CHANGING THE INDUSTRY

To create the new seed orchard, Frampton identified the best 25 trees in his 305-tree plot —roughly the best tenth of 1% of the original 28,000. He then took 45 clippings from each of those “best-of-the-best” 25 trees. Those clippings were then grafted and put in a plot in a different area, creating a seed orchard of 1,125 trees. Even the placement of those grafted trees got scientific with the help of mapping guidance from the Czech Republic, which has the most sophisticated seed orchard software available. Once the time comes, the seed cones will be clipped from the trees so their seeds can be harvested and planted in a nursery. Which tree the seed cones came from will be documented so the seed genetics and tree characteristics can be tracked.

“These trees, we know through our research they hold about 99% of their needles after they’re harvested,” Taylor said to provide an example of the benefit. “When you take a Christmas tree out of your house and you see all those needles on the floor, that’s the last impression a consumer has.”

That’s an impression that could

An April workshop teaches tree growers how to use grafting to prevent root rot in Fraser firs. NCDACS photo

North Carolina’s largest Fraser fir stands in the front lawn of the High Hampton Inn and Country Club in Cashiers. NCDACS photo

Waynesville dog park improvements delayed

Efforts to renovate the Waynesville dog park are taking longer than expected due to complications from the weather and issues with mulch quality.

“We do understand the public wants their dog park as soon as possible,” reads a Facebook post from the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. “We are working quickly to provide a nice and upgraded facility for their canines. We do not have a date yet of when it will be reopened. We hope the weather will allow us to finish soon.”

The renovation started as a three-week proj-

ect, but workers discovered “quite a bit” of trash in the new mulch after putting it in, forcing them to remove that mulch and find another source, according to the post.

While hauling the mulch out, constant rain has made the ground very muddy. Staff are waiting for the ground to dry so they can correct low sinking areas and ensure drainage is correct. After new, clean mulch is delivered and spread, the crew will again inspect drainage before installing fencing to separate the large and small dog parks.

Other upgrades will include fixing certain wooden benches, new signs and two dog water fountain bowls. The fountains will be installed in the spring.

Haywood Waterways honors water champions

Haywood Waterways Association recently recognized three water champions for their work to protect and improve Haywood County’s rivers, streams and reservoirs in 2022.

The Partner of the Year Award went to BearWaters Brewing, whose owners, Art O’Neil and Kevin Sandefur, have provided Haywood Waterways ample opportunities to collaborate with the community via workshops and a streambank restoration project at their Canton location, hosted numerous fundraising events and are major The Plunge sponsors and avid plungers themselves. Currently they are partnering with Haywood Waterways to do a stream bank restoration project in spring 2023 at their soon-to-open Hazelwood location.

The Richard T. Alexander Volunteer of the Year Award went to Steve Winchester, who has been volunteering since 2005 when he adopted a Volunteer Water Information Network site on Eaglesnest Creek. He still collects collecting water samples today. In 2010, Steve joined the Board of Directors, where he served until 2013. Since 2015, Steve has led hikes as part of Haywood Waterways’ Get to Know Your Watershed initiative. His band has performed at many of the nonprofit’s events, including The Plunge fundraiser, and he continues to serve on the Fundraising and Events Committee.

The Pigeon River Award is given to an individual or organization that makes signifi-

cant contributions to protecting land and water resources in Haywood County and went to the Town of Waynesville. The town’s staff and partners have provided opportunities for water quality projects, as well as providing labor and expertise to complete several stream improvements projects over the past few years. The town currently partners with

Plunge sponsors and avid plungers, has representation on Haywood Waterways’ Board of Directors, and continues to have a forwardthinking approach to water conservation and water quality protection.

For more information, visit haywoodwaterways.org.

be changed once commercial nurseries and growers start getting the seed stock for their operations from the station’s seed bank.

Improvements like that have the potential to make Fraser firs even more desirable to consumers and make Christmas tree growing more profitable.

Taylor said he hopes the new seed orchard will have meaningful seed production in 2028. Those seeds would go to a nursery to grow seedlings for about two or three years. In 2030 or 2031, those seedlings will be ready to transplant. Once planted in a field, the Fraser firs will take about seven years to mature to traditional Christmas tree size. So in about 2037 or 2038, consumers could take home a Christmas tree that can be traced back to Frampton’s research that began more than 40 years earlier.

In the years between now and then, Taylor hopes to have success in fully identi-

fying the male “parents” that pollinate the trees in the seed orchard. He knows they’re dealing with the best of the best, but being able to fully identify both “parent” trees means the seeds’ characteristics can be better known, and growers can get really specific about which seeds they want. The more specific information that can be shared about the seeds, the better growers will be able to make management decisions about their growing operations.

“There’s a lot at stake for the Christmas tree industry,” Taylor said. “I guess I feel the weight of that. John Frampton did his job through his career, and he left it with us. I realize what we have, and I don’t want to mess that up.”

Brandon Herring is a public information officer for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This piece first appeared on the department’s “In the Field” blog at blog.ncagr.gov.

Partner of the Year winner Kevin Sandefur of BearWaters Brewery (from left) stands with Haywood Waterways Executive Director Preston Jacobsen and Pigeon River Award winner Mayor Gary Caldwell, representing the Town of Waynesville. HWA photo

The Christmas tree seed orchard (lower right) on the Upper Mountain Research station will produce Fraser fir seeds with refined genetics.

NCDACS photo

Groundbreaking attendees gather at the Fraser fir seed orchard before the nearby groundbreaking on Nov. 18.

NCDACS photo

Start the ‘Year of the Trail’ off with a hike

A standing tradition of starting the New Year off with a hike will continue at N.C. State Parks from mountains to coast on Jan. 1, with parks in the western region also participating in the First Day Hikes. This year, the hikes usher in the beginning of 2023, which the N.C. General Assembly has named “Year of the Trail.”

• Chimney Rock State Park. A 3.2-mile walk or bike ride up the park’s entrance road will begin next to the Old Rock Café at 8 a.m. The park superintendent will lead an informative discussion about the park’s history along a route that is typically restricted to vehicular traffic only. Participants will gain free entrance to the park that day. Shuttle transportation will be offered back down to Chimney Rock Village, and cyclists can bike down the steep road at a controlled speed. Helmets are required. 828.625.1823.

• Gorges State Park. A casual hike from the Bearwallow Falls Picnic Area to the Bearwallow Overlook and then down to the Upper Bearwallow Falls observation deck will be held at 10 a.m. Be prepared with proper footwear and a water bottle for this half-mile hike. 828.966.9099.

All First Day hikes are listed at ncparks.gov/first-day-hikes.

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Renowned artists conserve their life’s inspiration

The last private property that Lands Creek crosses before entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Tuckasegee River is now conserved, thanks to Swain County residents George and Elizabeth Ellison.

The Ellisons have lived there since 1976, discovering the property by accident while hiking an old wagon trail in the National Park. The couple thought they were still on public property until they stumbled upon an old shack and eventually convinced the owner to first rent, then sell, the 38 acres adjacent to the National Park.

The couple credits the land as a muse for both of their personal careers. George, a renowned regional naturalist and author of seven award-winning books, and Elizabeth, a skilled artist and teacher, both draw inspiration from the property that has cultivated a sense of place in their respective works.

“Finding our personal sanctuary on Lands Creek was undoubtedly more important to our personal success than words can convey,” Elizabeth said. By permanently conserving the picturesque property, she and George hope to “pay back to the land what it has given to us.”

As they grew increasingly interested in permanently protecting the property, the Ellisons began discussing conservation easements with close friend Bill Gibson, and he suggested they speak with Mainspring.

“I knew George and Elizabeth loved the land,” said Gibson, who sits on the Mainspring board of directors.

Gibson was instrumental in the 1999 Mainspring-led project that conserved the headwaters of Lands Creek, so he was excited to facilitate a project that would bookend the 1999 project with this 2022 one.

“Conserving both ends of the creek is very meaningful,” he said.

Under the terms of the conservation easement, funded through a grant from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, the private property will remain intact, keeping the house and outbuildings where the Ellisons live, garden and maintain their own hiking trails. The easement will help protect the viewshed for portions of the Smokies, the Nantahala National Forest, and portions of the Tuckasegee River.

Elizabeth and George Ellison sit outside their home at lower Lands Creek. Mainspring photo

Wildlife Commission proposes rule changes

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has announced its proposed regulation changes for the 2023-2024 season, with a slate of public hearings and a comment period next month taking input on the proposals.

Proposed changes include:

• Reclassifying some streams from Wild Trout/Natural Bait Waters to Wild Trout Waters. These include Hurricane Creek in Haywood County, the game land portion of Scotsman Creek in Jackson County, the game land portion of Tellico Creek in Macon County and the game land portion of Turtle Pond Creek in Macon County. The main difference between the current and proposed classifications is that anglers are allowed to use natural bait on Wild Trout/Natural Bait waters. The natural bait exception is intended to diversify angler opportunity and experience, but the listed streams are rarely used by anglers fishing with natural bait. The Wildlife Commission says the Wild Trout/Natural Bait classification therefore unnecessarily adds complexity to Public Mountain Trout Waters regulations without enhancing the management of the resource.

• Defining conibear and conibear-type trap, box trap, bodygrip and cage trap. The proposed regulation clarifies that a weather-resistant permanent tag must be attached on Collarum-type traps, snares, box traps and cage traps, as is required for foothold and body-gripping traps. The changes are intended to reduce regulatory complexity and confusion among trappers, with requiring identifying tags on traps to aid enforcement. The changes will not impact animal populations.

• Changing the start date of the statewide regulated trapping season from Nov. 1 to Oct. 1. Expanding the season by one month is expected to increase opportunities for trappers and allow pelt to be harvested when it’s in prime conditions, often the case in October. The additional trapping is expected to be sustainable on the abundant species affected.

• Requiring authorization from the Wildlife Commission to possess or transport an elk that is killed accidentally or found dead. Sampling dead elk is important for disease surveillance and population monitoring. Given the size of elk, the proximity to traffic and the possibility of elk having anesthesia drugs in their system, the Wildlife Commission says it is generally inappropriate for the public to retrieve or consume dead elk without contacting the agency.

• Allowing landowners to remove raccoons, striped skunks, opossums and armadillos throughout the nesting season on Wild Quail Management Areas. Quail are a Species of Greatest Conservation Need, and removing nest predators helps

increase their populations. Currently, landowners on Wild Quail Management Areas are only allowed to remove nest predators during the early portion of the nesting season, with no provision to remove armadillos at that time.

• Defining terms through the rules for Wildlife Conservation Areas. Currently, rule language references terms that are defined only in Subchapter 10D, where they apply only to specific subsections.

• Restricting the number of consecutive night stays in posted Wildlife Commission camping areas to 14 in a 30day period and requiring a game lands license for all campers 16 and older. The changes are intended to support the sites’ intended use as short-term camping for hunters, alleviating misuse or overuse.

• Allowing disabled license holders and program permittees to use all-terrain wheelchairs, including track chairs, on game lands.

• Clarifying that falconry is allowed on Sundays on six-day-a-week game lands, correcting a technical omission in the existing rules.

• Allowing hunting on Labor Day, Veterans Day, Christmas, New Years and Martin Luther King Day on four days per week game lands and on three days per week game lands when these holidays do not fall on a Sunday, correcting a technical omission in the existing rules.

• Adding the definition of “either-sex” to mean antlered or antlerless. Harvest is not regulated based on sex or gender, but on whether a deer is antlered. The current language is inconsistent with deer management terminology in the southeast.

• Add “youth” to special permit hunt opportunities that may be designated by the Commission, clarifying the Commission’s ability to create hunt opportunities during closed days or closed season on specific game lands.

• Clarifying when written permission is required to remove an item from game lands. The current rule does not define archeological resources and when they can be collected. The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources has regulations in place and the WRC rule needs to reflect that. This clearly lays out for law enforcement when they can charge someone for taking archaeological resources from game lands.

For the second year in a row, the closest in-person public hearing for Western North Carolina residents will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, in Marion. A virtual public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, with written comments accepted through Jan. 31.

For more information, including the proposed changes, a meeting schedule and information on comment submission, visit ncwildlife.org/proposed-regulations.

Drought flees the mountains

For the first time in two months, drought is gone from the mountains after an exceptionally rainy week soaked soils across the region.

The N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council map released Dec. 15 shows of abnormal dryness affecting Cherokee, Clay, Graham and Swain counties, but otherwise moisture is normal or above until reaching southeastern N.C. Currently, 29 counties are in moderate

drought and 22 are abnormally dry.

Despite drought conditions clinging to the mountain region throughout November and much of October and December, the area saw a mild fall wildfire season. The only large blaze was the Hurricane Ridge Fire, which started burning Nov. 23 along Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge of Haywood County and was contained at just under 800 acres.

According to National Weather Service data, Bryson City got a whopping 4.29 inches of rain between Dec. 6 and 10. During the same period, Franklin got 2.81, Cullowhee 2.35 and Waynesville 1.39 inches.

Long turnaround times for nematode testing

North Carolina growers should expect routine nematode samples to take 15 weeks or longer to turn around this year, a delay caused by increased demand for testing and staffing shortages.

Samples submitted for diagnostic testing, including molecular diagnosis of guava rootknot nematode species, will be given priority. Those results should be available in around five working days. Currently, there are around 15,400 samples waiting analysis.

The Nematode Assay Lab can assay soil samples for the presence of at least 46 different plant-parasitic nematodes, which are microscopic threadlike worms that live in the soil. The results of a nematode assay help growers make important management control decisions for the upcoming crop season.

This highly detailed work requires up to a year of specialized training. Even with three experienced nematology technicians and a lab manager, the lab can process only about 200 samples per day, said Dr. Weimin Ye, nematologist for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences. Two new staff members are currently in training and five temporary employees have been hired to help prepare samples for analysis by trained staff. Samples received before Dec. 1 are expected to be complete at the end of March.

“Given the anticipated delays, growers should consider whether or not assay results will be ready in time to make management control decisions before submitting additional samples to the Nematode Assay Lab,” Ye said.

For updates on turnaround times, visit ncagr.gov/agronomi/pals/default.aspx.

Growers with nematode-specific concerns or questions can contact Ye at 919.664.1600 or weimin.ye@ncagr.gov.

Puzzles can be found on page 38

These are only the answers.

Notes from a Plant Nerd

BY ADAM B IGELOW

Happy Holly Days

There are many different plants that Appalachian mountainfolk have used for centuries in their decorations and celebrations on or around the winter solstice. Ferns, lycopodiums, mosses, lichens, holly and other trees, and many other native plants have been used as garlands and decorations for holiday celebrations. Among the most common Christmas trees sold is the Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) known for its soft, rounded needles which make putting on ornaments a much less painful experience than the sharp needles of spruce trees (Picea spp.)

One thing that they all have in common is being evergreen. Evergreen plants, those that do not die back to the ground and go dormant for the winter, have been celebrated as special, sacred and holy in many different cultures for thousands of years. Celtic, Druid and other Pagan European peoples, where many of our modern Christmas traditions were derived, saw magical symbolism in plants that could not only survive the long, dark and cold winters, but would thrive through them.

There is a story from the traditions of Cherokee people that tells how all the plants and trees were tasked with staying awake for seven days and nights when they were first created. Most of them were not able to do so and ended up falling asleep. Those who were able to stay awake were celebrated and gifted the power to remain green all winter long. This is why most plants go dormant and lose their leaves, since most of them fell asleep. Balsam trees, pines, cedars, hollies, laurels, hemlocks and many others were rewarded by becoming evergreen.

Evergreen plants have an advantage in gathering sunlight and energy over deciduous plants in the winter and early spring. On days where it is warm enough, they can gather sunlight and perform photosynthesis. Other times, however, they must protect themselves against the cold. Evergreen plants have developed different methods of doing so. Trees like pines (Pinus spp.) and hemlocks (Tsuga spp.) have multiple, small leaves we call needles that highly reduce the surface area of the leaves. This helps reduce water loss and limit cold exposure. Other, mostly low-growing plants like ragwort (Packera spp.) and toothwort (Cardamine diphylla) have dark purple on the underside

of their leaves. Dark colors absorb and hold heat, allowing it to be slowly radiated at night, helping to keep the plants alive. Rhododendrons will roll their leaves up when temperatures dip below 25 degrees, reducing surface area, and holding air in the tube that’s formed.

One native plant of southern Appalachia that has been associated with holiday celebrations and decorations is the Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides). This evergreen fern is common throughout the mountains and has been used as garland for mantle and stairway decorations for as long as there have been Christmas celebrations in this area. And its holiday association has even become a fun and easy way of identifying it. Each frond, or fern-leaf has a triangular notch where it connects to the stem,

known in ferns as a “rachis.” When held horizontally, this notch can be said to look like Santa riding in his sleigh. Or, when held vertically, the notch becomes where you would hang the stocking from the chimney with care.

While the words “holly” and “holy” aren’t truly related, they sound enough alike that I tend to associate one with the other. And with their dark green leaves and red berries, the connection with Christmas and the holiday season deepens even more as red and green are the traditional colors of Christmas. This time of year brings forth many different holidays from many different traditions, religions and different parts of the world in the northern hemisphere. Most, if not all these holidays have a connection to the natural world, to the length of the day and night, and to plants. No matter what and how you celebrate, I hope you find warmth, comfort and light in this period of cold and darkness. And remember that no matter how long and dark the winter, the wildflowers will come back.

(Adam Bigelow lives in Cullowhee and leads weekly wildflower walks and ecotours through Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions. bigelownc@gmail.com.)

Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is common throughout the mountain region and often used in Christmas decorations. Adam Bigelow photo

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The Jackson County Farmers Market meets every Saturday November through March 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and April through October 9 a.m.-noon at Bridge Park in Sylva, 110 Railroad St. Special events listed on Facebook and Instagram.

• The Jackson Arts Market takes place from 1-5 p.m. every Saturday at 533 West Main St. in Sylva with live music and an array of local artists.

• Cowee School Farmer’s Market is held Wednesdays from 3-6 p.m., at 51 Cowee School Drive in Franklin. The market has produce, plant starts, eggs, baked goods, flowers, food trucks and music. For more information or for an application, visit www.coweeschool.org or call 828.369.4080.

• “Art After Dark” will be held from 6-9 p.m. each first Friday of the month (May-December) in downtown Waynesville. For more information, go to facebook.com/galleriesofhaywoodcounty.

• Jackson County Green Energy Park is once again welcoming visitors. It is open to the public each week 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Public classes will resume this spring. JCGEP will also host live glass blowing demonstrations at Innovation Station during the Lights and Luminaries festival in Dillsboro. For more information email info@jacksonnc.org or 828.631.0271.

H OLIDAYS

• The Jackson County Public Library is showing the movie Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22, in the community room. There will be special snacks, crafts and games before the movie. The program is free and open to the public. For more information, call the library at 828.586.2016.

• Smoky Mountain Christmas Light Spectacular will take place 6-10 p.m. Nov. 10-Dec. 31, at the Great Smoky Mountain Event Park. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays in November, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. BrysonCityChristman.com

FUNDRAISERS AND B ENEFITS

• New blankets can be dropped off at the Mountain Projects Office, 2177 Asheville Road in Waynesville, or online purchases can be shipped directly to the agency through Dec. 23, for the annual Blanket Drive. Financial contributions towards winter heating bills can be made online at mountainprojects.org/giving or checks can be sent by mail. Annotate checks with “Winter Warmth.”

• Haywood Waterways Association and The Town of Canton are hosting the 11th annual Plunge and Plunge Challenge till take place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Champion Credit Union Aquatic Center (Canton Pool). The event raises funds for Kids in the Creek and other Haywood Waterways’ community education activities. For more information contact 828.476.4667 or info@haywoodwaterways.org.

CLUBS AND M EETINGS

• The Canton Branch Creative Writing Group meets 10:30 a.m.-noon on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. For more information, email Jennifer at jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2561.

• Knit Night takes place at 5:30-7:30 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month at The Stecoah Valley Center. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP is recommended: 828.479.3364 or amber@stecoahvalleycenter.com.

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com

• Sylva Writers Group meets at 10:30 a.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, starting Jan. 11, at City Lights Bookstore. For more information contact sylvawriters@gmail.com.

S UPPORT G ROUPS

• Highlands Mountain View Group holds open A.A. meetings in Highlands at the First Presbyterian Church, 471 Main St., at 5:30 p.m. on Monday and at noon on Wednesday and Friday. The Cashiers Valley Group holds open meetings at the Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday, 5 p.m. Friday and Sunday, and at 9 a.m. Saturday. Zoom meetings are available at noon on Monday, at 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and at 9 a.m. Saturday (ID# 921 817 2966, password CVG2020). For more information, please visit www.aawnc80.org or to speak with a member of AA 24/7 at 828.349.4357.

• The SHARE Project and RISE Resources in Support of Empowerment bring you Smart Recovery Friends and Family at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month in the Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center Upstairs Classroom.

• Free support meeting for families and friends who are struggling in their relationships with loved ones in addiction. Meetings provide concerned significant others the tools needed to effectively support loved ones without supporting the addictive behavior. These tools help family and friends better cope with loved one’s situation and regain peace of mind. Meetings take place from 6-7:30 p.m. every other Thursday at RISE, located at 926 East Main St. in Sylva. More information at www.risewnc.org or 828.477.4136.

• Haywood Hospice & Palliative Care is sponsoring a Community Grief Gathering at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at the Canton Library in the meeting room. Each month will feature a different grief topic. The Haywood County Public Library and Haywood Hospice require that masks be worn inside the building. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Dan Pyles at 828.452.5039 or email Daniel.pyles@lhcgroup.com

• Dementia Caregivers Support Group, for those providing care for folks who are dealing with dementia, meets from 4:30-6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Haywood Senior Resource Center (81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville). For additional information call 828.476.7985.

• Al-Anon, for families and friends of alcoholics, meets every Monday night from 7-8 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 77 Jackson St., Sylva. Enter at front of church through the door to the left of the sanctuary; meeting is first door on the right. The Church requests that you wear a mask if you are not vaccinated.

• Narcotics Anonymous meetings are back “live” inperson after a year of being on Zoom only. Local meetings are at noon on Mondays and Wednesdays at Sylva First United Methodist Church in downtown Sylva. Entrance at back of building.

• Grief Gathering, hosted by Haywood Hospice & Palliative Care take place at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesdays of the month at the Haywood Regional Fitness Center. Designed to offer support to anyone in the community who has recently experienced a loss. For more information, contact Haywood Hospice at 828.452.5039.

K IDS & FAMILIES

• Move and Groove Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Thursday, at the Canton branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Exciting, interactive music and movement story time ideal for children 2-6 years old. For more information contact Ashlyn at ashlyn.godleski@haywoodcountync.gov or at 828.356.2567.

• Mother Goose Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Wednesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children from birth to 2 years old. For more information, contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.

• Wiggle Worms Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Tuesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children 2-6 years old. For more information contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.

• Next Chapter Book Club Haywood is a fun, energetic and highly interactive book club, ideal for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The group meets every second and fourth Monday of the month. For more information, email Jennifer at jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2561.

• Storytime takes place at 10 a.m. every Tuesday at the Macon County Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• Toddler’s Rock takes place at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Macon County Library. Get ready to rock with songs, books, rhymes and playing with instruments. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for:

n Complete listings of local music scene

n Regional festivals

n Art gallery events and openings

n Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers

n Civic and social club gatherings

& Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• Take a trip around the world with four different wines every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday 11a.m.-6 p.m. at the Bryson City Wine Market. Pick from artisan Charcuterie Foods to enjoy with wines. 828.538.0420

• Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS

• Chess 101 takes place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. every Friday in the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. No registration required, for more information call 828.648.2924.

• Wired Wednesday, one-on-one technology help is available at 3-5 p.m. every Wednesday at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Library. For more information or to register, call 828.648.2924.

• Uptown Gallery, 30 East Main St. Franklin, will be offering Children’s Art Classes Wednesdays afternoons. Adult workshops in watercolor, acrylic paint pouring, encaustic and glass fusing are also offered. Free painting is available 10 a.m.-3 p.m. every Monday in the classroom. A membership meeting takes place on the second Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. All are welcome. Call 828.349.4607 for more information.

A&E

• Maggie Valley Ice Festival will take place from 3-8 p.m. Jan. 28, at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds.

• Karaoke takes place at 7 p.m. every Friday at the Meadowlark Motel in Maggie Valley. Call 828.926.1717 or visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• Paint and Sip at Waynesville Art School will be held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7-9:30 p.m. To learn more and register call 828.246.9869 or visit PaintAndSipWaynesville.com/upcoming-events. Registration is required, $45.

• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon-4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood St. in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods. Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.

F OOD AND D RINK

• BBQ and Live Music takes place at 6 p.m. every Saturday at the Meadowlark Motel. Call 828.926.1717 or visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES

• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m.3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. 828.349.4607 or pm14034@yahoo.com.

Outdoors

• Tickets are now on sale for Winter Lights, an open-air walk-through light show of more than 1 million lights running Nov. 18-Dec. 31 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville. Ticket prices range from $30 to $60 per car depending on the date and entry time, with members receiving a $5 discount. Flex tickets are $75. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit ncarboretum.org/winter-lights.

• Hike the 3.2-mile entrance road to Chimney Rock State Park at 8 a.m. Jan. 1, from the Old Rock Café. The park superintendent will lead an informative discussion about the park’s history along a route that is typically restricted to vehicular traffic only. 828.625.1823 or www.ncparks.gov/first-day-hikes.

• Hike from Bearwallow Falls Picnic Area to the Bearwallow Overlook and then down to the Upper Bearwallow Falls observation deck at 10 a.m. Jan. 1. The hike is about half of a mile. 828.966.9099 or www.ncparks.gov/first-day-hikes.

Market PLACE WNC

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We are currently hiring a Tax Credit and Health Justice Advocate for our WNC Health and Economic Opportunity Program (HEOP), which supports our mission in 18 Western North Carolina counties as part of a multi-year grant funded expansion of anti-poverty work within the broad areas of free tax preparation/ tax credits and outreach/ enrollment for Affordable Care Act health insurance. The WNC HEOP Tax Credit and Health Justice Advocate will be responsible for ensuring that families and individuals gain access to quality health insurance coverage, as well as quality tax preparation services throughout the assigned region. The responsibilities will be split between providing tax preparation services, which includes informing potential clients

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Employees are eligible for medical, dental, vision and life insurance coverage the 1st of the month following the start date.

Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) pays 100% of the Employee and 50% of the Dependent Cost for BCBS Medical and Dental coverage. PLS pays 50% of the Employee Coverage Cost for BCBS Vision coverage. PLS pays 100% of Long-Term & Short-Term Disability Coverage, Life Insurance Coverage of 5x base salary + an additional $15,000 Life & AD&D Coverage. 401k Retirement Plan after 6

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THE JACKSON COUNTY

DEPARTMENT

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other assigned duties. This position requires graduation from high school and demonstrated knowledge, skills and abilities gained through at least three years ofequivalent combination of training and experience. The starting salary is $35,835.68. Applications will be accepted through December 30, 2022.

THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES is currently recruiting for a Community Employment Case Manager. This position will provide eligibility determination and Employment Services to Work First recipients and their families. This position assesses individuals and families for participation in the Work First Program and works to eliminate barriers to clients’ economic selfalso performs employee applications as well as Foster Care Medicaid. Individuals qualifying for this position must be able to effectively assess persons with regard to their employability and the barriers to their must have thorough knowledge of community knowledge of the laws, regulations, policies and procedures of the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with supervisor, clients and their families, as well as with civil, medical, social and religious

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Real Estate Announcements

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise ‘any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination’. Familial status includes children under 18 living with parents or legal guardians

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Emerson Group - emersongroupus.com •

•

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ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com •

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Answers on 34